An Unexpected Light
by sktrgrl13
Summary: AU - Gray Fullbuster's life has been far from perfect and he would do anything to fix it, as long as it didn't have anything to do with talking to his psychiatrist... Other than having a more than emotionally and physically scarring childhood he was normal, until some crazy old beggar took everything away from him and gave him a chance to get so much more... boyxboy
1. Chapter 1

**HEY GUYS ANOTHER NEW FANFICTION! DON'T WORRY I'LL CONTINUE UPDATING "FORGIVE ME, KISS ME, LOVE ME" AS SOON AS I GET RID OF THE WRITER'S BLOCK! **

**Anyways, this is my new fanfic like I said earlier and once again it is centering around my favourite Fairy Tail pairing NatsuxGray XD there will probably be a little LyonxGray but more like brotherly love **** Well I hope you enjoy the first chapter of "An Unexpected Light"!**

**-sktrgrl13**

**PS. I do NOT own Fairy Tail or any of its magnificent characters! If I had my way, Fairy Tail would be shounen-ai/yaoi so that NatsuxGray could officially be an item and not have to hide it ;)**

_The morning sun streamed in through the open windows, warming the house with heat that had not been existent for days. The bright yellow walls were bare, but collections of dust revealed the past existence of pictures, shelves, chairs and other knick-knacks. All that seemed to be left in the room were two small boys, no older than the ages of four and six. The youngest boy was sitting with his back against one of the walls with his knees brought up to his chest. His raven hair hung in his dark blue eyes as he watched his older white-blonde brother tiptoe towards the front door. _

"_Lyon," The raven-haired whispered, "Mama said we should stay put."_

_The white-blonde boy turned to his younger brother, sadness displayed in his onyx eyes,_

"_I know what she said, but she's been out there a really long time. I just want to see if she's alright or if she needs any help."_

_The younger boy pushed himself to his feet and walked over to his hero with determined eyes,_

"_I'll come with you; we can find her together."_

_Lyon opened his mouth to argue, but before a sound could even leave his mouth an explosion rocked the house as screams intruded on the silence. Lyon grabbed onto his little brother's hand and pulled him outside. The raven-haired boy held onto his brother just as tight so he wouldn't be separated. _

_The boys ran into the crowd of people that had gathered on the street to see what was going on. They pushed themselves to the front of the crowd so that they could get a better look, only to regret and fear what they saw before their eyes. A mangled corpse of a woman was lying in the middle of the street covered in blood; parts of the road and random houses had been demolished, littering the lightly snow covered ground. _

_The younger boy's legs gave out from under him as he recognized who the body on the street was. He could still distinguish the raven coloured hair, some of the alabaster skin, the familiar clothes and the wide, unstaring, deep blue eyes. Bile rose up into the young raven's throat as he threw up next to his mother's body. Tears rained down his cheeks in waves and his body was nearly convulsing from the shock before his eyes. He felt the presence of his older brother, but he couldn't actually see him, nor actually hear the words he was saying. He was aware of his older brother pulling him into his arms and rocking him back and forth, effectively calming him and making his mind drift away slightly. When the raven looked back at his mother he noticed there was a message written next her in red. He tugged on Lyon's sleeve and pointed it out to him since he couldn't read it himself._

_He heard Lyon gasp and start muttering under his breath. The boy tried to listen to what his brother was saying, but he couldn't catch all he was saying,_

"_Keep him safe… I have to keep him safe… they'll come after him soon… without mom around… I need to keep Gray safe!"_

"Alright, I believe that is all we'll focus on for today," A distant voice whispered, "When I count back from three you will awaken."

Every fibre of his being wanted him to stay there; he was now old enough to actually understand what his long-last brother was trying to say. Even if his chest ached from reliving his mother's death, he wanted to figure out why she died and who killed her.

"3…" The voice began.

He wanted to keep looking at his older brother; his rock, his saviour. Lyon was the reason why he had survived all the years he spent in foster care. If it weren't for him, Gray probably would've died a long time ago.

"2…"

If only he was old enough to understand what was happening around him; if only he knew why he was moved from house to house as a child. He wanted to know what his mom was afraid of over all those years; Lyon seemed to know about it, but he refused to even acknowledge it. The only thing Lyon did was protect him for all those years in that hell hole that was called his home until he was eight and they were both freed; however, they weren't freed from the scars that littered their bodies or the scars of being separated from each other.

"1…"

The bright fluorescent lights blinded him as soon as he opened his eyes; a small tear escaped his normally expressionless façade and trailed down his cheek. He swiped at it furiously, trying to hide it, but of course nothing would be able to get past Dr. Porlyusica. She immediately threw him a box of tissues with a disgruntled look on her aging face. She was not the typical psychiatrist; if anything the only reason she had clients was because she made them crazy in the first place; not that Gray was crazy or anything, hell, he was far from it.

"Now Gray," She picked up her pen and glared at him, "Will you be willing to actually share what you saw this time around or are you simply wasting my time as usual?"

He rolled his eyes and glanced away from the psychotic psychiatrist. She was fairly civil with him in the beginning, but as soon as she tried to delve into his past he set that crazy lady straight. His past was something that was never going to be picked apart and analysed, especially if he had anything to say about it. Porlyusica stared at Gray impatiently with narrowed red-brown eyes and a tight expression. Her strawberry blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun with stray bangs framing each side of her face. The pen in her hand was shaking ever so slightly with the tension that was slowly building up in her body. Gray still refused to meet her gaze and instead tried to search for the clock so he could countdown the minutes he had left in this agonizing session. After a few moments Porlyusica slammed her clipboard onto the coffee table that separated the two of them.

"Gray, if you don't tell me anything I won't be able to help you." She forced out, "Your parents and I want you to get over this past of yours so that you will be able to thrive in the outside world. Don't you want to get rid of your panic attacks? Don't you want to live a normal life?"

"Of course I do!" He growled.

"Then let me help you; you're a bright kid with a bright future, don't let anything or anyone ruin it for you."

The raven-haired teen sighed and folded his arms against his chest in defiance. His face as stoic as usually; not a single crack in the perfect mask he had erected and kept in place for ten years. As the psychiatrist's eyes stared at him, his anger immediately started to surface. He hated to be stared at; he wasn't something to be analysed, he was a human being for god sake!

"You don't know anything about what happened! You have no idea about what kind of hells I faced or what kind of hells he faced! We were in that house for four fucking years and no one bothered to save us before it was too fucking late! And what do those bastards do?! They separate us! My own mother was murdered, I was on the run the first four years of my life, and we were forced to live in that goddamned hell hole, only to be ripped apart when we finally taste freedom!" He roared, "You have no idea what the fuck it was like!"

With his body trembling with kept in rage, Gray shot out of the chair he was in and went towards the office door. He didn't look back at Dr. Porlyusica as he left, but he was sure he could feel her smiling triumphantly at his back. She was happy because for the first time in the three years Gray had been attending therapy, his walls had finally cracked.

FTFTFTFTFT

Gray stormed out of the office building, tears threatening to overwhelm him, as the raw feeling of loneliness and guilt tried to dig their claws into him. Keeping his head bowed, he pushed his way through the crowd of people so he could get as far away from the Magnolia Psychiatric Office as fast as his legs could carry him. For some reason he felt like someone was watching him, but he couldn't pinpoint where the feeling was coming from; it was making him anxious. His breathing was starting to escalate and his chest was starting to tighten to the point where he thought he was going to pass out. He hastily pushed through the crowd and into a deserted alley way. Normally he would stay away from the hidden alleys of Magnolia since they were known to be filled to the brim with beggars and thieves, but he needed somewhere to hide so he could let his panic pass.

He leaned his back against the side of the brick building behind him and slowly lowered himself onto the dingy ground beneath him. He closed his eyes and pulled his legs close to his chest in order to make himself feel smaller and less noticeable. He could feel his chest loosening and breathing was getting easier, but he was still a little anxious about the feeling of someone watching him. He would get this feeling all the time growing up with his mom and brother and every time he had this feeling they would end up leaving the town the next day. He also had that feeling when he lived in that hell of a foster home in Akane, but the anxiety was almost so frequent that the he got used to the panic attacks; but as he grew up and got away from that house, his anxiety and panic attacks got worse.

When his breathing returned to normal and the anxiety disappeared Gray finally pushed himself to his feet. He was about to leave the alley when someone latched onto his wrist. He hesitantly turned around and met the eyes of a beggar woman covered various shawls and tattered clothing. Her age could be easily defined by the wrinkles that decorated her face and the hollow cheeks told him of how malnourished the old woman was. Gray tried to pull away, but the old woman's grip only seemed to get tighter; surprisingly, he was unable to move even an inch. The woman's eyes, the colour of liquid sunshine, stared deeply into his. A smile spread across her lips as the raven-haired teen stopped fighting against her grip.

"A beautiful golden light engulfs you my dear," She whispered in awe, "I've never seen anything like it in my many years of fortune telling."

"W-What are you talking about?" He demanded nervously, "It's probably only the sun hitting my back or something."

The old woman shook her head in denial and pulled Gray closer to her causing him to have to bend down slightly due to her height,

"No, this golden light is special; it holds great power." The woman argued, "The power to visit the past, the power to gaze into the future, the power of empathy and lastly, the power of life itself."

"I don't have money on me lady," Gray found his confidence, "Let me go."

The woman ignored him and continued to stare into his deep blue orbs. The woman chuckled maniacally and placed her free hand over his eyes so he couldn't see anything.

"I shall free your spirit from the ties that bind it," The old woman laughed, "Power like this should not be hidden."

Before Gray could say anything, intense heat danced across his eyes. He wanted to scream in pain, but his voice didn't seem to be working; nothing seemed to be working. After what felt like hours of pure agony the woman's hand was finally removed from his eyes. He blinked a few times to clear his hazy vision and he immediately started to panic. He could see perfectly fine out of his right eye, but his left had gone entirely black; he couldn't see anything on his left side.

Gray collapsed to his knees and glanced up at the old woman in fear,

"W-What did you do?! W-Why can't I see anything from my left eye!"

"The key to unlocking your magnificent gold light was in your left eye, naturally in order for you to gain your abilities, that part of your body would have to be sacrificed." The old woman explained as if they were talking over cups of tea.

"What if I don't want this power?!" Gray cried, "Hell, I don't even know what power you are talking about!"

"You will know in due time young one," The woman said as she turned away and started making her way down the alley, "People will come for you; they'll protect you, just stay strong young Light, stay strong."

Gray got to his feet to follow her, only to realize that she had vanished. Panic once again started to consume him, but he tried to push it aside and he ran out of the alley. He felt uncoordinated with only one working eye, but he had to find someone to help him. He stopped by the curb and dug into his pocket for his phone. He started to dial his parents' phone number when one of the passersby ran into him and his phone flew out of his hand and onto the street. Quickly looking both ways, he jumped onto the road and picked up his phone. Suddenly the sound of screeching tires met his left ear; he forgot that he was now blind on that side. How he forgot was beyond him, but now he was going to pay the price for his carelessness.

He braced himself for impact, but instead of being hit from the side like he expected, he was hit from the back and flew forward. The people in the area gasped as Gray hit the ground, but strangely he didn't feel that much pain. He pushed himself into a sitting position and clutched his aching head. He glanced towards the curb and saw a prone body lying face down on the street with a bus stopped inches away from the body. Gray pushed himself to his feet and ran to the body on the ground.

"Someone call an ambulance!" He screamed as he collapsed next to the body, who happened to be a teenage boy maybe a little older than himself.

He didn't know if he was supposed to touch the boy or just leave him for the paramedics. He hesitantly pressed his fingers against the boy's neck to search for a pulse and was relieved when he found one. The boy shifted under his touch and slowly began to lift his head; panicking, Gray gently tried to keep the boy's neck still.

"O-Oi," He stuttered, "You shouldn't move; your neck might be damaged…"

A small chuckle left the boy's mouth before his onyx eyes met Gray's,

"Still trying to look after me after all this time aren't ya Gray."

Gray froze when he heard the other boy say his name. He actually looked at the boy for the first time and could barely stop his mouth from dropping open. The teenage boy had pale, alabaster skin which was covered with blood in some places, messy snow white-blonde hair and intelligent onyx eyes. For the first time in years, the empty space in Gray's heart swelled with undeniable familiarity,

"L-Lyon?!"

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I STILL DON'T OWN FAIRY TAIL MUCH TO MY DISMAY! D:**

**I hope you guys like this chapter, I had a little trouble writing it and I'm still not sure if I like it yet. I'm sorry if it's confusing, but I hope you can still enjoy it **

**-sktrgrl13**

The onyx eyes gazed into his deep blue ones with relief, worry and joy. He smiled at Gray and he couldn't help but smile back at him, despite the situation that they know found their-selves in. Gray hadn't smiled once in the nine years that the brothers had been separated from each other; the movement from his facial muscles seemed so abnormal to him.

"Lyon…" He whispered again; tears threatening to fall down his cheeks.

The white haired teen opened his mouth to respond, but his body suddenly started to convulse and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Gray's heart caught in his chest as fear started to claw relentlessly on every hope that he had just gained back.

"L-Lyon!" He repeated frantically, "Lyon, look at me!"

Gray could hear sirens in the distance, but for some reason relief wouldn't come. It was like he _knew_ that the paramedics wouldn't be able to save him on time; it was like he could feel Lyon's life draining away.

"No…" He whispered brokenly, "No… not again…"

He was four all over again; his mother was lying on the snow covered ground, blood clotting into the snow as if it was a grotesque work of art. He couldn't lose his brother; he was the only person that Gray had left and he refused to be separated from his brother when they had just found each other again. He didn't want to be alone… not again… he had to save him… he had to keep his brother safe… HE WASN'T GOING TO LOSE HIM AGAIN!

"NO!" Gray screamed.

Going purely on instinct, Gray shot his arms out and placed his hands over his dying brother; gold light engulfed his entire body and exploded out of his hands, showering Lyon with warmth. Warm tears trailed down the raven-haired boy's cheeks as he prayed for his older brother's survival. Lyon had to survive, he just had to; if he didn't survive Gray didn't know what he would do. Sharp pains laced through his left eye frequently as the gold light continued to pulsate around Lyon, but Gray simply ignored it; he's been through worse in his life.

"Gray," A voice whispered soothingly, "Stop, you have to stop."

"I-I can't!" Gray sobbed, "I need to save him."

"I'm okay now," A calloused hand caressed his cheek, "Calm down, I'm alright."

Almost robotically, Gray's shaky hands dropped off Lyon's now sitting body. All the blood, cuts, and bruises that had once decorated the older teen's body had disappeared like magic. Gray opened his mouth to question him, but exhaustion quickly consumed his body causing the world to swim before his eyes. The world tilted forcing the raven-haired teen to fall to the side; his body falling into Lyon's open arms.

"Shh," Lyon whispered soothingly into his younger brother's ear, "Just rest, I'll be here when you wake up."

Even though he was scared that Lyon was going to disappear when he closed his eyes, he allowed his exhaustion to completely take over. He fell asleep to the sounds of a confused crowd and the delayed arrival of the paramedics.

FTFTFTFTFT

The sound of a continuous beeping is what drew Gray out of his comatose-like sleep. His heavy eyelids opened slightly and he was greeted by a bright fluorescent light shining above him. He flinched away from the bright light as his eyes tried to adjust to his surroundings. The white walls around him and the tubes and IV drip running from his arms told him that he was lying in a hospital bed. He tried to push himself into a sitting position, but he suddenly felt arms pushing him back down. His breathing quickened slightly because he couldn't see who was touching him; he was terrified.

"Shh Gray," A voice whispered, "Calm down, it's just me."

The raven-haired teen turned his head to the left and faintly spotted Lyon sitting in a chair next to his bed. A small smile spread across the older teen's lips when he saw Gray looking over at him with relief. Lyon pushed himself out of his chair stiffly and pulled Gray into a soft hug that the younger teen eagerly accepted.

"Lyon, I'm so happy you're alright."

The white haired teen ruffled Gray's hair affectionately,

"I could say the same to you."

Gray's cheeks turned pink and he turned away from his brother; only to quickly turn back so he could look his brother in the eyes. Lyon's eyes saddened when he looked into Gray's now mismatched eyes; one gold and one deep blue. Gray noticed his brother's sad gaze and quirked his eyebrow in confusion,

"What's wrong?"

"Did you run into anyone today; someone that you wouldn't normally see any other day?" Lyon asked bluntly.

Gray paled slightly and nodded his head. Subconsciously, he brought his hand to his eye and ran his fingers over it softly,

"Some batty old woman claimed to unlock some power in me and took away my sight in my left eye. I thought she was nuts, but that was until I saved you."

Lyon ran his hand through his hair in frustration,

"So you remember doing that?"

"Yeah," Gray nodded, "I can't remember much of it, but I do remember the gold light that exploded out of me and helped you."

Lyon cursed under his breath and turned away from his slightly confused brother. He paced around the room muttering under his breath; for some reason, Gray could feel the temperature in the room dropping as Lyon's emotions continued to rise. The younger teen pulled his hospital blanket closer around himself as mist started to gather around his mouth when he breathed.

"Your anxiety attacks," Lyon whispered suddenly as he turned back towards his brother, "Have you felt someone watching you lately?"

Again Gray nodded and raised his eyebrow at the strange behaviour his brother was exhibiting. Lyon cursed again and started unhooking Gray from the countless machines that he was attached to,

"We have to get out of here."

Before Gray could even open his mouth Lyon tossed him his street clothes and exited the room to stand outside the door. The younger teen hastily changed and knocked on the door so he could let Lyon know he was dressed. Instead of coming into the room, Lyon's hand latched around Gray's small wrist and pulled him out of the room without a second glance. Lyon ran through the sterile halls, holding onto his wrist tightly and still muttering under his breath. Gray distinctly heard the words 'fire bastard', 'where the hell is he' and 'the dumbass better not be motion sick again'.

"Lyon?" He asked hesitantly, "What's going on?"

The older teen sighed in frustration,

"I'll explain everything as soon as we get out of here."

Gray was about to argue when a sickening dark feeling seemed to drift toward him. He gazed around the strangely empty hallways searching for the source of the dark feeling. When he couldn't find anyone, he focused on keeping up with Lyon. He had a feeling that his older brother knew what was going on and it pissed him off that he was left in the dark, after all, he wasn't a little kid anymore; he could handle it.

"Tell me what's going on," He demanded, "Now."

Lyon ignored him and continued to drag him down the hall and around the corner. Gray could feel his anger building up inside him and was about to retort when the darkness he was feeling intensified. He could feel the darkness shooting towards them like a rocket; murderous intent amplified into Gray's mind. Out of instinct Gray ripped his arm out of Lyon's hand and pushed the older teen against the wall while he dropped to the floor. A bright green light shot over him and smashed into the wall at the end of the corridor causing it to explode into a million pieces. The debris flew towards the two brothers at high speeds prompting Gray to cover his head protectively; surprisingly, nothing hit him. Gray lifted his head cautiously and he felt his mouth drop open in disbelief. A shield of pure ice was erected in front of his body and the debris was scattered on the floor behind it; Lyon was standing protectively in front of him, his hands brought together in some sort of sign with a strange symbol underneath his feet.

"L-Lyon?!" Gray stuttered, "What the hell is going on?!"

His older brother pulled his to his feet and pushed him to the other side of the ice shield,

"Run!" He ordered.

"…"

"Goddamnit Gray, don't just stand there!" Lyon roared as the symbol under his feet expanded and cold air began to circulate around him, "RUN!"

Gray wanted to listen to the older teen, but he couldn't; it was like he was frozen in place. His eyes couldn't move away from the person standing across from Lyon. His heart started to race erratically as the familiarity of the figure started to sink in. The man standing across from Lyon was extremely tall and dark hair was pulled back into a long pony-tail that drifted past his broad shoulder blades and ended at the middle of his back. The man was wearing a deep blue suit and his tan skin covered his well-toned muscles. What scared Gray the most was the masochistic smirk on the man's face and the murderous glare the man's dark gaze was shooting, not at Lyon, but at Gray. The look in his eyes was so recognizable to Gray, but he couldn't place where he had seen it before.

"Ah, Lyon, Gray," The man's voice boomed, "It's been a long time hasn't it? I'd say it has been about thirteen years."

Gray's face paled and if it was possible, Lyon's eyes darkened even more than they already were,

"Don't talk to him."

The man laughed at Lyon's words and started to advance on the two boys,

"Don't be so tense boy; I'm only here to see that young Gray here has the chance to meet his father."

"M-My father?"

"Gray," Lyon warned, "Don't listen to a word that bastard says."

"Oh c'mon Lyon," A green glow began to gather in the man's hands, "Don't you want to tell him where his powers come from? Doesn't he deserve to know why he has the Light that he has or do you want him to be left in the dark?"

Gray wanted to know what was happening to him, but he trusted the man only as far as he could throw him and judging by the man's size, Gray wouldn't be able to throw him that far. He trusted Lyon to tell him the truth later, but at the same time, he felt that Lyon would withhold information to keep him safe; that's just who Lyon was. Gray was regrettably torn between the two men and that terrified him to no end; it made him think that he saw his own brother as a complete stranger and in a sense he kind of was. At the same time, the green light that the man held seemed painfully familiar and extremely dark; so dark, that it made him sick to his stomach.

"Shut the fuck up Deliora!" Lyon roared, "I won't let you take him!"

_Deliora…_

Gray's legs gave out from under him as the man's name reverberated through his already confused mind. He thought back to the memory that Dr. Porlyusica had brought up at their last meeting. He tried to remember exactly what the words next to his mother's body read; he felt like Deliora had something to do with it. He closed his eyes in deep concentration, recreating the dreadful memory block by block. After a few moments his eyes snapped open; the message fully re-made in his mind.

_He knows we are here… Deliora will take him if we're not careful; you have to protect him to ensure that Zeref doesn't get his hands on him. Keep him safe at all costs…_

"He killed mom." Gray whispered.

"Gray…"

"Lyon, he's the one who killed mom wasn't he?!"

The older teen nodded his head slightly and the raven-haired teen's heart broke,

"S-She died because of me?"

The chill in the air suddenly died and the symbol beneath Lyon's feet shattered along with the shield that protected Gray. Lyon glanced back at his brother and instantly felt the need to pull him into his arms and tell him that it wasn't his fault at all; the only people at fault were Zeref and the bastards he calls followers. Lyon's eyes were forced to snap back to Deliora when the man burst into laughter that shook the halls.

"Of course she died because of you," Deliora smiled, "If you weren't such a freak, she wouldn't have had to die."

"How dare you!" Lyon growled and took the stance he was in before, the symbol once again appearing at his feet, "Ice Make: Ice Eagle!"

Suddenly, a barrage of eagles made of ice formed out of thin air and attacked Deliora ferociously. The attack caused smoke and more debris to spray into the hallway effectively blocking the two brothers from view. With Deliora briefly distracted, Lyon ran to Gray and pulled him to his feet. Although Gray was a bit dazed, he let his older brother drag him away from the scene; he wanted to do anything to erase what he had just heard from Deliora.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Countless green beams broke through the man-made smoke screen and struck Lyon in the shoulder sending them both to the ground. Gray crawled over to his brother and was about to try and summon the golden light when Lyon shakily grabbed Gray's hands and pushed them away,

"Don't."

"But…"

"I'll be fine," Lyon grunted as he pushed himself onto his knees as he held his shoulder, "You'll end up hurting yourself."

Gray was going to argue again when Deliora's laughter erupted through the smoke. Lyon pulled Gray so that he sat behind his older brother and out of the line of fire. With the white haired teen distracted by Deliora, the younger teen hastily called upon the golden light and held his hands over Lyon's damaged shoulder.

"Gray!" Lyon yelled, "What did I tell you?!"

"I know what you told me!" Gray snapped, "I didn't listen to you when I was eight and I'm not going to listen to you now."

Deliora laughed again and aimed another beam at the two brothers. Lyon pushed Gray out of the way and then jumped from the line of fire. However, Lyon reacted too soon and Deliora changed his aim towards Gray.

"Like always Lyon, you jump the gun."

"NO!"

Gray sat frozen as the green light headed straight at him. He could feel his heart beating in his chest and the blood pounding in his ears. He could hear Lyon's running footsteps and his voice screaming his name, but Gray couldn't make his muscles move. He closed his eyes expecting the impact to happen any moment know, only for it to never happen. Gray opened his eyes and was surprised to see another teen standing in front of him; a teen who was not Lyon. The teen had dark black jeans, a red t-shirt and a black leather jacket. What was even more surprising to Gray was that the teen was wearing a white muffler in the summer and his hair was pink; who dyed their hair pink?!

The mystery teen's palms were facing towards Deliora and a barrage flames had attacked the green beam moments before it touched Gray. The teen turned to Gray with a relieved smile placed firmly on his tanned face. His olive eyes seemed to spark and flare a lot like the flames that he had just used and Gray couldn't help but be drawn to them.

"Sorry we're late Lyon," The teen laughed as he ran his hand through his hair, "The train was a bitch."


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I STILL DON'T OWN FAIRY TAIL **

Gray continued to stare at the teen standing before him with his mouth hanging open ever so attractively. The raven haired teen glanced from the stranger to Lyon (who was giving the most intense death glare ever) back to the stranger and then to the dumbfounded and very pissed off Deliora. He shakily pushed himself to his feet and dusted some of the debris off of his clothing while he tried to teach himself how to breathe again. Gray opened his mouth to ask what the hell was going on when the stranger suddenly wrapped his arm around his waist and lifted him over shoulder.

"W-What the hell?!" Gray struggled against his grip, "W-What are you doing?!"

The clearly psychotic stranger simply laughed at his outburst before turning his back on Deliora and running away. He watched as Lyon hastily erected another wall of ice before taking off after them. As the trio rounded the corner, the sound of Deliora's enraged screamed echoed around them as a foreboding promise for revenge. Gray tried struggling again to signal that he wanted to be let down, but the stranger instead held him even tighter so that he wouldn't fall on his head. Gray knew he was safe because this stranger obviously knew Lyon and he was also smart enough to know that this stranger was most likely the infamous 'flame bastard who gets motion sick' that he was ranting about earlier.

"Hey," Lyon called as he ran so that he was now beside him, "Are the others here too?"

"Others?" Gray asked in confusion.

"Yeah, they're waiting in the forest." The pink haired teen smiled, "We'll leave Magnolia right as soon as we meet up."

"Leave Magnolia?" Gray whispered.

"Good, after all, we don't know if Deliora has reinforcements." Lyon agreed.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Gray interrupted angrily, "and put me down you bastard or I'm going to beat your fucking head in!"

The pinkette once again laughed at him before slowing down to a stop before putting the younger teen on his feet,

"Wow Lyon, you never said that your brother was this feisty."

"Tch…" Lyon crossed his arms, "I never said anything about Gray to you until now."

Gray growled in frustration and proceeded to walk away from them mumbling under his breath angrily. An extremely warm hand latched onto his wrist and calmness, security and warmth started to flow into his body immediately soothing his angry thoughts. He released a calming breath and looked back at the two older teens standing behind him. The pinkette was the one holding onto his wrist, which would explain the warmth, and Lyon was looking at him sadly. Gray yanked his arm out of the stranger's grip and his anger slowly started simmering all over again.

"Now that I finally have both of your attentions, are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?" Gray growled, "Like who the hell are you, what's with the strange powers, why do I have to leave Magnolia and why my own father wants me dead?!"

"Gray, it's neither the time nor place for us to explain everything." Lyon sighed, "It's a very long story."

"Goddamnit Lyon!" Gray ran his hands through his hair in exasperation, "I'm sick and tired of being left in the dark! I have more than enough darkness and mystery in my life for you to keep adding to it!"

Lyon opened his mouth to say something when the pink haired teen stepped forward and held out his hand. A warm smile was spread across his tanned face and merriment shone in his olive eyes; he was like an overgrown child.

"The name's Natsu, Natsu Dragneel." The boy introduced himself, "I met your brother under certain circumstances a couple years ago."

Gray hesitated slightly before placing his own hand in Natsu's,

"I'm Gray, Gray Fullbuster."

As he was about to retract his hand, Gray's left eye burned excruciatingly and images that held no meaning for him started to run through his mind. A small boy with pink hair around the age of four or five was sitting in a forest clearing next to a red dragon. Before he could even question it the scene changed to show the same pink haired boy, maybe a few years older now, with the same dragon learning how to control the fire that he possessed. The boy jumped onto the dragon's neck in celebration when he perfected the technique he was practicing. The scene changed again, but now the pink haired boy was alone; he was searching the clearing for the dragon. He fell to his knees after hours of searching and broke into tears of loneliness and pain. He lifted his head to the overcast sky and shouted his agony to the listening world;

"_IGNEEL!" _

FTFTFTFT

"Gray, wake up!" A voice called, "Can you hear me?!"

The raven haired teen's eyes slowly opened to meet the anxious orbs of Lyon's. Gray glanced around himself and noticed that he was surrounded by tall pine trees. Lyon wrapped an arm around his shoulders and helped him into a sitting position. A pounding headache was coursing through his head as he tried to comprehend what he just witnessed. Gray scanned the area again and realized that the pink haired teen was nowhere around.

"What happened?" His voice cracked, "Where did Natsu go?"

Lyon shrugged his shoulders,

"I'm not too sure what happened; the flame idiot said that it was probably because you were tired. As for the whereabouts of said flame idiot, he's just gathering up the others so we can fill you in on what's going on."

Gray sighed and massaged his temples soothingly,

"Damnit Lyon; I swear to God that if you don't explain anything then I'm seriously going to kick your ass."

"Well that would be sort of pointless."

The raven turned his head to see the aforementioned pinkette and five other strangers, four girls and one boy, walking towards him from the treeline. Gray rolled his eyes and pushed himself shakily to his feet again and shrugged off Lyon's hands before advancing on the teens coming towards him.

"It's a figure of speech idiot." Gray growled.

"You mean he doesn't know." The older raven haired teen standing across from Gray smirked, "Well, that's going to fuck things up."

"Gajeel, we were going to introduce you guys first and then explain things…" Lyon muttered.

"Well don't you think it would be easier to tell him that he's God and then tell him who we are?" The raven haired teen, now known as Gajeel, teased.

"WHAT did you just call me?" Gray's mouth dropped open and then laughed nervously, "Is this a joke?!"

The younger teen's eyes landed on every single person in the forest, hoping, that someone would burst into laughter and say 'we sure got you good!'; but of course the world was essentially against his very existence and that didn't happen. In a last ditch effort, Gray turned so his eyes were on Lyon,

"Please tell me he isn't serious!"

Lyon sighed sadly and ran his hand through his hair nervously,

"I would if I could, but the facts are you are generally a 'god-like' being."

Gray started pacing back and forth because the need to move got to be too much,

"What the in the bloody hell makes you think I'm God?!"

Natsu slowly approached the teen calmly and gently placed his hands on Gray's shoulders to stop him from moving.

"Well, our first clue is your eye; ever since the woman in the alleyway 'unsealed' it you've been experiencing strange things haven't you?"

"If you mean Del…"

"No…" The pink haired teen interrupted, "I mean with you as a person; you can do things that normal people shouldn't be able to do. When Lyon saved you from getting hit by that bus, he did die, but you brought him back to life. Not only that, but you're also empathetic; you can sense the feelings and emotions of those around you. You did this during the entire ordeal with Deliora; you could sense the darkness coming off him. You also experienced it with me on the way here, when you picked up my past memories."

Gray backed out of the older teen's grip and was about to deny everything he just said, but in reality, he knew that he couldn't. Everything Natsu just said was true, and there was nothing that could refute those facts. However, just thought of being a type of God was way out in left field; there was no way in hell that his mind would be able to comprehend that.

"Okay, if I'm supposed to be some sort of God, then who and what the hell are you guys?!" Gray demanded anxiously, "I'm assuming you all have some type of ability; hell I've seen Lyon and Natsu's abilities in action!"

"That's easy to answer!" The young blonde standing next to Natsu laughed, "We're your protectors."

"Protectors?"

"Yeah," The blonde nodded, "I guess you could compare us to the angels in the bible, only, we're probably ten times more violent."

"Oh that's just great…" Gray mumbled, "As if my life wasn't fucked up enough already."

"Well there's not much you can do about it Gray," Lyon spoke up as he approached him cautiously, "We didn't choose this life either."

"You think I don't know that; we've basically had the same life only you knew everything that was going on while I had no clue." The raven spat.

Lyon went silent and looked away from his younger brother, refusing to make eye contact. Gray also looked away from his brother and towards the other six teenagers instead. He sighed exhaustedly and ran his hand through his hair.

"So," He whispered nervously, "What are your names?"

Almost before he could get the sentence out a tall, red headed girl wearing armour stepped forward. She was smiling at the teen, but Gray couldn't help but feel a spark of fear when she looked at him like that; he had a feeling that if he would ever step out of line, she would be the one to massacre him. She walked up to Gray and held out her hand for him to shake; he hesitantly held out his own hand, not sure if he should touch her out fear that more memories would flow into his mind.

"My name's Erza Scarlet," She grabbed his hand, "It's nice to finally meet you."

Luckily, no memories appeared, so Gray relaxed slightly,

"Uh hi, n-nice to meet you too."

The sound of laughter met their ears causing Erza to let go of Gray's hand and glare at Gajeel darkly,

"What's so funny?!"

"Nothing," Gajeel smirked, "It just looks like the brat knows that he should fear you oh mighty Titania."

"Titania?" Gray raised an eyebrow, "I thought your name was Erza?"

"It is; Titania is a nickname."

"Oh…"

Gajeel started laughing again, prompting Erza to storm towards the poor bastard and start beating the shit out of him. Gray couldn't help but wince every time the red head hit him; yeah, he definitely didn't want to get on her bad side. He turned his eyes to the other teens and jumped back when he saw a blunette standing so close to him that they were almost nose to nose.

"Hello?" Gray said warily, "W-Who are you?"

"Juvia Lockster!" She practically screamed in his face, "Juvia has the pleasure to work alongside Gray-sama and keep him safe!"

"G-Gray-sama?" He held up his hands in an attempt to keep his bubble, "You don't need to be formal or anything; just call me Gray."

"B-But Juvia likes calling you Gray-sama…" Tears began to well up in her blue eyes.

"Uhhh, okay, call me whatever, just don't cry!" Gray begged; he could handle basically anything, but crying girls.

"Thank you Gray-sama!" She screamed and tried pulling him into a hug.

"Juvia, stop trying to molest the poor boy, he's been through enough as it is." The blonde from earlier rolled her eyes.

"Just admit it Lucy; you're jealous that Gray-sama is mine!"

"YOURS?!" Gray shouted as he pushed her off him, "I just met you like five seconds ago!"

The blonde girl named Lucy face palmed and stepped between the two before pushing Juvia towards Gajeel and Erza,

"Sorry," Lucy apologized, "She's kind of clingy."

"I can see that." Gray laughed nervously, "So your name is Lucy?"

The girl nodded and smiled brightly,

"Yup and you can call on me if Juvia is bugging you; I'll try and get her out of your hair."

Gray laughed,

"Good to know."

He looked behind Lucy and saw a girl by the age of ten or maybe twelve at the oldest talking animatedly to Natsu,

"Hey, who's that little girl?"

"Oh!" Lucy exclaimed, "That's Wendy; she's a little shy, so you might actually have to go up to her. The only person she likes talking to is Natsu; apparently it's because they have similar backgrounds."

"Okay," The raven nodded in understanding, "That's not a big deal."

Lucy led Gray over to Natsu and Wendy; he couldn't believe that someone as young as Wendy could be involved in shit like this. When he made it over to them, he noticed that Natsu pushed Wendy forward a little so she would get the courage to take to the raven. She looked up at Gray shyly and started to fidget with her t-shirt; she opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out which caused a light blush to brush her pale cheeks.

"Hi Wendy," Gray smiled encouragingly, "I know I seem like a big scary monster with an attitude problem, but I promise I'm not that bad."

The young girl laughed and smiled up at him brightly,

"I would never think that Gray-san; you've been through a lot, so of course you would be a little stressed at the moment. I won't hold it against you."

Gray patted her head gently,

"Thanks."

TBC

**I'm sorry for the long wait! It's exam time and I wanted to finish "Forgive Me, Kiss Me, Love Me" before I continued on with my other stories. This chapter is a bit suckish and exists to help fill in some of the gaps. I hope it's not too confusing for you guys, just let me know if it is! I don't really know where I'm going with this; like I have a vague plot, but it changes all the time so I don't know how it's going to end anymore so bear with me as best as you can. **

**Thanks,**

**~sktrgrl13**


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN FAIRY TAIL YET… BUT I'M STILL WORKING ON IT!**

After saying hello to Wendy, Gray walked away from 'his protectors' and leaned against the trunks of one of the nearby trees and stared up at the darkening sky. The sky still had the pinkish-yellow hues of sunset, but he could see the light colours giving way to the sweet colour of deep indigo. Gray pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his head in his arms exhaustedly. All he wanted to do was go to sleep, but he didn't want to be carried around anymore; he had two legs so he could very well walk on his own. His gaze unknowingly wandered to Lyon causing him to sigh sadly; he did love his brother and he was happy that they found each other, but he wished that Lyon didn't hide everything from him all these years. He understood that it was probably to make sure that he would have a normal life, but Gray couldn't help but feel betrayed and alone by his brother's actions. A part of him was telling him that if they weren't separated all those years ago Lyon probably would've told him everything eventually, however a larger part of him was saying that that thought process was deep and utter bullshit and that Lyon would've kept it a secret as long as possible.

"Hey," A voice whispered beside him, "How are you holding up?"

Gray turned his head and he found himself looking into the bright olive eyes of Natsu Dragneel. He shifted his eyes to the ground and sighed tiredly,

"Okay I guess; I still have a lot of questions though."

"Yeah, I figured you would." Natsu whispered as he sat next to the raven haired teen and closed his eyes, "You probably want to know why your father is after you and why your mom died, but I'm not the one who should tell you this."

"I know, but I don't want to talk to Lyon right now; he really hurt me you know?"

Natsu nodded in understanding before he gazed into Gray's different coloured orbs,

"I bet he did, however, he just thought that he was doing the best for you. He loves you a lot you know; he'd probably do anything to keep you safe."

"He has already done more than enough," Gray admitted, "But that's why I wonder if he's tired of it all. I've been a burden to him for the majority of our childhood; he did everything and suffered everything just to make sure that I wouldn't be hurt. What he doesn't understand is that being left in the dark and being left helpless to help the people you care about hurts more than any physical pain would."

Natsu laughed half-heartedly,

"I'm not going to argue with you on that. The ice freak has a nasty habit of thinking self-sacrifice is the only option; but I also see the same with you."

Gray sighed sadly,

"I know…"

Natsu ruffled the raven's hair before pushing himself to his feet once more,

"We're probably going to start moving soon, so try and relax while you can."

Gray nodded before zoning out once more. The sound of crickets and frogs travelled into his ears, soothing his frantic thoughts with the comforting noise. It helped him know that no matter how drastically his own life changed, the world around him would continue living as it was. The crickets would forever sing for the night and the frogs would forever accompany them in a never-ending symphony. He was about to doze off when anger, hate and darkness cut through his serene state. His eyes immediately snapped his eyes open and jumped to his feet moving from the tree he was sitting by.

"Gray what's wrong?" Lyon was immediately beside him, what happened previously between them temporarily forgotten.

"Something's coming this way," Gray whispered, "Who or whatever it is, is extremely pissed off."

"Deliora?" Natsu asked from somewhere on his left.

"No, I don't think it is… it seems… darker." He explained.

"Could it be Zeref himself?" Erza asked tensely.

Natsu shook his head,

"Zeref wouldn't show himself yet, it's too early in the game."

"Well whoever it is, they're coming fast." Gray closed his eyes in an attempt to focus, "I think they're coming from the left."

As the words left his mouth, dozens of creatures exploded from the treeline. They were so black that if it were the middle of the night, Gray and the others would not have been able to see them physically. They stood on two legs like a human, but their arms were so long that they almost touched the ground. Their fingers had sharp talons growing and the rising moon shone menacingly on them. Their ears were long and pointed like that of a rabbit's, but their teeth were long and pointed like that of a wolf's; on their back however, they had large leathery wings. The darkness and anger that Gray sensed rolled off the creatures in sickening waves slowly turning his stomach.

"W-What are they?" Gray whispered.

"Grigames," Gajeel snarled, "They're creatures created by Zeref."

"And I'm guessing they're here for me." Gray sighed.

"No shit."

Gray was about to glare at the older raven but froze when he saw a bright red light coming from his right. Erza was standing in a fighting stance as she pulled a sword out of a red magic circle in midair. His mouth dropped open in disbelief as he tried to comprehend what he just saw. The red head noticed his stare and she smirked at him confidently,

"So, are we going to get this party started or what?"

FTFTFTFT

Gray tried to stay as far away from the fight as he could while trying to comprehend what he was seeing around him. He guessed that the others would have abilities like Lyon and Natsu, but he didn't expect them to be so diverse. He learned that Juvia manipulated water, Wendy wind, Gajeel was able to configure any part of his body into steel, and Lucy summoned other beings from thin air; much like Erza did with her swords and apparently her armour. He couldn't stop himself from being awestruck by the abilities that his 'protectors' possessed. By watching the intricate team work of the teens, he couldn't help but feel completely safe with them; not only that, but the Grigames were dropping like flies. At the same moment he felt like that they were going to win this battle, he felt maliciousness and arrogance around them; something wasn't right. The raven tried to pinpoint the source of the feelings, but it was like they were all over the place. He knew that the feeling wasn't coming from the fighting teens, but FOR the fighting teens and he couldn't do anything to stop it.

Gray narrowed his eyes and tried to search for any sign of the intruder in the darkening night. As his eyes shifted to the other teens, a burning sensation coursed through his left eye. He automatically placed his hand over his eye and tried to massage the pain out of it; that's when he saw him. Deliora was hiding in the treeline, unnoticed by the others, and was preparing to attack them from the side so they wouldn't be able to recover. The raven growled angrily and adrenaline started to course through his veins like a raging river. He could faintly feel the light within him churning angrily to the source of his anger and pain. Gray started to sprint to Deliora; he knew he wouldn't be able to defeat him, but he would be able to hold him off. Answering to his thoughts, the warm gold aura circulated around the palms of his hands. He crossed his arms in front of his chest so that his arms were extended and his wrists overlapped each other. He didn't know how he knew this would work; he just trusted what his gut was telling him. He closed his eyes and gathered the energy that was within him; he could feel the light crackling around him enthusiastically, telling him to keep going. He could faintly hear voices calling his name and asking what was going on, but he just drowned them out and focused. Words seemed to come to his mind as if by magic; and he knew by instinct that it was the words to the spell he was casting.

"Cavea Luminis, PROTEGO!"

The shelter of trees was immediately bathed in a shower of golden light. The fighting stopped instantaneously as they watched the light fall on them in confusion. As the light started to fall on their skin like fresh snow, the Grigames hissed in excruciating pain and black misty smoke started to rise off their skin; they were disintegrating. Gray shifted his gaze from the dying Grigames and back to the treeline; his eyes immediately met those of Deliora who was glaring at him with nothing less than the look of death. Deliora tried to walk into the light, but he too hissed in pain as a red burn appeared on his hand. His glare only intensified when a cloak of darkness wrapped around him and evaporated; his anger and malice along with him. The raven was about to turn to his new comrades when his legs gave out from under him for the millionth time that day. The last thing he felt before he welcomed the darkness was the comforting combination of both flame and chill.

TBC

**Hey guys! I'm aware that this is a short and sucky chapter, but I'm not too great at fight scenes… hopefully I get better so I don't disappoint you guys. At least there was some NatsuxGray fluff in this chapter **** I also hope you guys like my Grigames… I hope they're creepy enough for you! **

**-sktrgrl**

**PS. "Cavea Luminis, Protego" means "Cage of Light, Protect" in Latin!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Don't own Fairy Tail… but I will make sure that I do someday! **

A bright light shone against Gray's eyelids causing his eyes to scrunch together in discomfort. His muscles felt sore and his entire body was screaming at him to go back to sleep and get much needed rest. The soft movement that seemed to gently rock his body could've easily sent him back into the darkness if it weren't for the cold hand resting against his forehead; chills travelled down his spine and goosebumps started to dance across his pale skin. Slowly, he opened his lead-like eyelids and was of course greeted by the sun shining into his eyes. He tried turning his head to take in his surroundings when the cold hands brushed his cheeks. Gray carefully pushed himself into a sitting position so that he was now looking his older brother in the eye. Lyon seemed exhausted beyond belief; he wouldn't be surprised if the older teen hadn't slept. The raven haired teen peeled his gaze off Lyon and searched his surroundings like he intended. He noticed that he was no longer in the forest, but was now sitting on a train. As he glanced around, he noticed the other guardians.

Juvia was sitting on the other side of Lyon with her head leaning on her shoulder and she was out like a light. Lucy was leaning against the window on the other seat, with Wendy cuddling to her side sleeping peacefully. Gajeel was beside the two girls sitting with his eyes closed and his arms crossed against his chest; how he managed to look cocky even in his sleep was beyond Gray. Erza was beside Gajeel also sleeping, but he had a feeling that if someone were to approach them with ill-intent, Erza would probably decapitate them without even opening her eyes. Gray moved his gaze to the figure beside him; the pink haired teen was lying against the back of the seat with his eyes shut firmly. His tanned skin was unnaturally pale, and soft moans were escaping him every now and then; he did not look good at all.

"Is he going to be alright?" Gray whispered, "Did he get hurt or something?"

"Nah," Lyon laughed, "He's just really motion sick."

"Oh…"

"What about you?" He inquired, "Are you alright?"

Gray turned so he was facing Lyon again and shrugged his shoulders half-heartedly,

"Yeah, I'm fine; just a little exhausted that's all."

The older teen nodded his head in understanding,

"That's to be expected; you used a great deal of power after all. What caused you to do something so reckless anyway?"

"Deliora was standing in the bushes preparing to attack you guys." Gray sighed, "I was only planning on holding him off, not making it rain freaking pixie dust."

Lyon nodded sadly and then shifted his gaze to the floor. The raven didn't particularly like the look of utter defeat that plagued his older brother's features. That expression just didn't suit Lyon and it never did; whenever it appeared it always sent shivers down his spine. Gray cautiously placed his hand on his shoulder which caused Lyon to glance back up at him.

"What's wrong?" He asked quietly.

The white haired teen sighed,

"I'm so sorry Gray; I should've sought you out and explained everything to you earlier."

"It's okay," He smiled slightly, "You had your reasons; just, let me know next time."

The ice user smiled in return, but his eyes quickly dropped to his feet again. Gray waited patiently for his brother's next move; it was up to Lyon if he wanted this talk to continue. No matter how much Gray wanted to have answers, he knew that pressuring Lyon wasn't the way to go about it; hell, that would just piss him off. Absently, he ran his hand over his left eye; he found he was doing this more often, not because it hurt, but because it felt like it was trying to tell him something… he just couldn't figure out what that was. When he felt Lyon's eyes on him again, he let his hand drop and let himself get swallowed by the onyx in front of him. He could feel his brother's conflicted and worried emotions as if they were his own.

"Lyon?" Gray asked hesitantly, "Would it be easier if you just…showed me?"

The older blinked at him a couple times before a scowl appeared firmly on his face,

"No."

"It was just a suggestion," The raven raised his hands defensively, "I thought that it would be better for me to see it for myself, that's all."

"It probably would be better," Lyon nodded, "But you just woke up from over using that blasted power; you're too tired to use it right now."

Gray rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest in frustration. He knew that he was acting like a spoiled brat, but goddamnit, Lyon was getting on his nerves with the overprotective bullshit.

"Listen, I need to use it more often," Gray argued stubbornly, "If I don't exercise it, then I'll never be able to use it properly without being completely exhausted. It's like running track; if you don't practice it at it, then your stamina will never increase so you will never improve and you will become a liability to your team. I refuse to become that liability Lyon."

Gray pushed himself to his feet and left their car to try and find a bathroom; Lyon was about to respond when a voice cut him off,

"He's right you know. He has to learn how to control it or there is no way in hell that we're going to be able to defeat Zeref and you know it."

FTFTFTFT

The white haired teen glared at the pink haired teen who was able to gain enough strength to follow and join the conversation. Lyon growled and massaged his temples rhythmically in an attempt to soothe his already growing migraine.

"Dragneel…" He ground out, "Stay out of this."

"Bastia, you know he has a point." Natsu blatantly ignored him, "Either you let him do this or I'll tell him and I know that he wants you to be the one tell him."

"You don't know anything about that flame asshole…"

"I know a lot more than you give me credit for Lyon; we've all been affected by Zeref in many different ways. Gray doesn't want you to protect him anymore; he thinks that you have done more than enough for him and he doesn't want you to suffer anymore. Why can't you see that ice bastard?! He doesn't want you to carry the burden alone and he doesn't deserve to be left in the dark. If you don't tell him anything, it will ruin everything that we worked towards; all these dark thoughts and secrets will just diminish his power or inevitably kill him and you know that!"

"I do know that Dragneel; I'm very aware of that. Telling him the truth could keep the darkness from getting at him, but it could also thicken around him. What if revenge becomes the only thing on his mind, eh?! Did you think of that you bastard?!"

Natsu brought his hand to his mouth as a wave of nausea quickly engulfed him. He waited for it to pass before he continued talking,

"That's why we're here Lyon," Natsu smiled, "We're all his protectors, we'll keep him safe no matter what. Even when he does learn the truth, he'll have all of us by his side; we'll keep him strong."

The two older teens sat in silence as the tension in the air started to dissipate around them. Soon enough, their emotions calmed down and they had both relaxed. Natsu closed his eyes and started to drift off to sleep again. As his breathing regulated, Gray returned to the train car and took his seat between the pinkette and his brother. Lyon watched his younger brother closely and sighed in defeat; his brother had grown before his eyes and he didn't even notice it.

"Gray," He whispered, "Before I show you anything, you have to promise me something."

The raven raised an eyebrow at him before nodding slightly. Lyon took a deep calming breath before speaking again,

"Promise me that you won't change after I show you this. Not all of it is pleasant and it's going to be vague in some areas, since Mom was the only one who knew what actually happened. What you are going to see is me talking to one of Mom's closest friends; she was the only one to know about Mom's past with Zeref and everything that happened afterwards."

"O-Okay?" The younger teen asked in confusion, "I promise."

Hesitantly, Lyon reached out and grabbed Gray's hand in his; he squeezed it reassuringly. Almost as if he were watching his brother drift off to sleep, Gray's eyes started to glaze over and his golden orb started to glow faintly. The smaller teen's body slumped forward so that his head was lying on his brother's shoulder. Lyon ran his hand through his brother's hair as he thought about whether or not he made the right decision.

TBC

**Hey guys! Here's chapter five; things are finally starting to be explained! I'm sorry if the characters seem OOC in this chapter I tried my best with it… I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I can't wait to get the other chapter in motion because a bunch of secrets are going to be revealed! What will become of our characters? Where is the train heading and are they going to make it to their destination? You'll have to stay tuned to find out! ;)**

**-sktrgrl**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Fairy Tail… **

_The room he was standing in was dim; the only source of light was the torches that hung from the concrete walls. The flames flickered flared as if they had a secret that they wanted to divulge; they begged him to come closer so they could consume him and show him the truths that hide in the darkness. Two figures sat at a rickety wooden table in the center of the room on a rotting rug. One of them was fairly young; maybe fourteen or fifteen with white hair and alabaster skin. A blue jacket hugged his upper body in an attempt to keep the chill of the room off his body; but the chill didn't affect the teen in the first place, he seemed like he was in his element. Sitting across from him was a woman in her late twenties or early thirties. She was very beautiful; her hair was a golden blonde that could rival the sun and her brown eyes were the colour of warm, milk chocolate. Her skin wasn't as pale as the boy's but it was still a little light for the area she was from. Her slender hands held a tea pot and she graciously poured tea for both the boy and herself. The boy murmured a thank you before bringing the steamy cup to his lips; he set it back on the table gently and waited patiently for the woman to start talking. The woman also placed her own cup down and stared intently into the boy's onyx eyes._

"_So, you're Ur Milkovich's son," She smiled sadly, "It's nice to finally meet you; I only wish that it was under better circumstances."_

"_I do as well," The teen whispered politely, "I assume you know why I am here?"_

_The woman nodded,_

"_Ur said that you would come to me someday to inquire about the birth of your younger brother and the power that he possesses. I know that you are aware of his gift and you know what it entails, but you wish to know where it comes from."_

_The teen nodded his confirmation and waited patiently for the woman to continue._

"_Now," She began, "The first thing you should know is that Ur's death was meant to happen; there was nothing you could do to prevent it… it was inevitable. She knew she was going to die, she just didn't know when it would occur. She hoped that you and your brother would be older when it happened, but clearly that wasn't the case."_

_The boy swallowed thickly and tried to stop the tears from falling. He picked up his tea and buried his face in the steam while pretending to talk another drink. The woman watched the boy sadly and allowed him to collect himself before continuing._

"_When your mother became pregnant with your younger brother, it wasn't of her own volition. The father of your brother forced himself on her because he was told by an oracle that if he mated with her then she would bear a child of astounding power; a power that could either save or destroy the world. Now, you must understand that prophecy is a fickle thing and is only half truths. Yes, she did conceive and bear a child with immense power, but his power will save the world, not destroy it."_

"_But, doesn't that mean the prophecy came true?" The teen interrupted._

"_In a way, I guess it did," The woman said thoughtfully, "But, Ur told me something very important a few weeks before she died. The man who took advantage of her was the son of the demon of the underworld, while she was the daughter of an angel in the kingdom of heaven. It is impossible for two powers such as that to reside in one being; therefore something else had to occur… do you know what that is?"_

_The boy became silent for a moment before his eyes widened in comprehension,_

"_Twins?!"_

_The woman smiled and nodded,_

"_Exactly dear boy, Ur was pregnant with twins; however, the twin housing the darker power was a stillborn. It wasn't strong enough to house the darker powers given by the father; only the Light survived and that was your brother. Your mother was worried that your brother's father would discover the truth about the twins' birth and kill your brother; that is why you three were constantly on the move. She was able to shield you and your brother for a long time, but for a reason that is unknown, your brother's powers fluctuated and caught the attention of his father… do you have any idea of what would cause that?"_

_The white haired teen became thoughtful and closed his eyes as he tried to sort through his memories,_

"_When I was six and my brother was three going on four, we were playing outside when a child collapsed at the park we were playing in. I didn't know the child personally, but my brother did; apparently the child was a girl in my brother's kindergarten class. She was the only one to be his friend and when he saw her collapse he freaked out. He ran to her to see if she was alright and then I saw this strange golden light emitting from him. When the light disappeared, the little girl was awake, but he passed out."_

_The woman tapped her chin,_

"_Did your mother know about this?"_

_The boy shook his head,_

"_No, when he woke up, he couldn't remember what happened; so I just assumed that I didn't see anything. A few months after that, Deliora came and killed her; that's when I knew that what I witnessed that day in the park was not a figment of my imagination; I blamed myself ever since."_

_The woman reached out her hand and placed it over his and rubbed it comfortingly,_

"_You were six years old; you didn't fully understand the degree of his abilities, you only knew that he was special and needed to be protected. _

"_Ur had faith that you would be able to keep him safe even if she is gone, and I do as well. You will meet up with him again one day and you'll have to tell him this story or he'll never truly understand."_

"_I don't know if I'll be strong enough to tell him…"_

"_You will be," She assured him, "Someone will help you see what you need to do; you haven't met them yet, but there are people like you who have been affected by your brother's father Zeref. Like you, they will be there to keep your brother safe and in return your brother will save the world."_

"_Thank you." He whispered gratefully before pushing himself to his feet and heading to the door._

"_Before you leave," She stopped him, "I need to tell you one thing."_

"_Yeah?"_

"_All great powers don't come without a price; one day your brother will have to make a choice and you and your companions will have to fight in his stead."_

_The boy's body froze and the temperature in the room dropped drastically,_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I can't answer that." Her eyes glistened with tears, "Just look to yourself for the answer."_

_The teen turned from the woman and left the room…_the memory along with him…

FTFTFTFT

Gray slowly opened his eyes and was greeted with a pounding headache and a searing pain in his eye. Lyon was no longer beside him and he realized that once again he was in a completely different place. He searched around himself and noticed that he was in a forest again; he pushed himself to his feet to explore when a voice stopped him,

"How are you feeling?"

He turned to the voice and he saw that Natsu was lying on the ground with his arms pillowing the back of his head. His olive green eyes were staring at him with a mix of worry and relief; he slowly pushed himself up and approached him.

"I'm fine." Gray muttered, "Just wondering where we are and where everyone is."

"We're in the forest outside Akane," Natsu gnawed on his lower lip as he noticed as the teen's body went ridged, "Gajeel, Erza and Juvia are doing perimeter while Lucy, Wendy and Lyon went into town to get supplies."

"How long was I out?"

"A couple hours or so at the most."

Gray sighed and looked at the ground; suddenly a warm hand was placed on his shoulder and a sense of calm was placed over him. He hadn't even realized that he was stressing out or angry until he felt that hand on his shoulder. He looked up and found himself drowning in the green boring into his soul.

"Do you want to talk about what you saw?" Natsu asked nervously, "I'd understand if you want to talk with your brother…"

"But he's not here," Gray huffed, "And I need to get this out of my system **now**."

Natsu nodded in understanding,

"Alright, but you know you do have to talk to Lyon about this too, right?"

"I will when he gets back," He agreed, "But if I talk to you first, there's less of a chance that I'll yell at him."

"True enough." Natsu laughed, "So where do you want to begin?"

"Well I can't really talk to you about Ur, you don't know much about her," Gray shrugged, "Uh, I guess I want to know how you and the others come into this."

The pinkette rubbed the back of his neck,

"That's really complicated since we don't really know ourselves. Well we are all descended from the heavens like you, but we don't know in what way."

"Lyon is descended through Ur's side, but the rest of you don't know your parentage or anything?" He asked, "What about Igneel?"

"That's right," Natsu tensed, "You know about him."

"How does he play into all this?"

"Igneel was my adoptive father; he is a deity and he found me when I was around four or five. He stopped me from burning down a village; I lost control of my flames and almost killed everyone. When he realized my heritage, he took me under his wing and trained me; however, he never told me who my parent was."

"Lucy said that you and Wendy have the same childhood," Gray stated, "Does that mean she was raised by a dragon too?"

Natsu nodded,

"Both her and Gajeel actually."

"Wow…"

Natsu opened his mouth to try and explain more when a blast of water shot into the sky. Without a word, the pinkette latched onto Gray's wrist and started to run. The raven tried to keep up with him, but he was still exhausted from using his ability in such a short span of time. In one swift movement, Natsu yanked on his wrist so that he was able to scoop Gray into his arms. A flash of heat spread across his cheeks and his heart started to beat like a thundering drum in his chest. A darkness started to grow feverously in the pit of his stomach again; but this time he knew that it was different from Deliora. This darkness possessed hidden intent and evil so pure that it could have bathed the entire world in madness and carnage. He could feel it gaining on their heels; he knew from the speed that it had to be some sort of ability. Acting fast, he rocked his weight to one side, surprising the pinkette, causing them to lose balance and fall into a row of bushes just as a shot of a dark, purple, aura-like beam grazed Gray's left temple; he could feel the blood dripping from his forehead almost immediately. Gray looked at Natsu to see if he was alright, but he was busy sending a silent apology to him. The sound of hurried footsteps met their ears, drawing their attention to the path that they were running on previously. An older man with long, snow white hair was standing before him. The wrinkles on his face would tell someone that he had to be over sixty years old, but the way he carried himself said that he was no older than forty-five. He had an eye patch on his left eye and Gray could sense a strong power hiding beneath it. Gray felt as Natsu's arms tensed around him and drew him closer, almost protectively.

"Hades…" He growled.

TBC

**Second story update of the day! I feel really accomplished right now! I hope you enjoy the chapter… it's a longer one this time! I can't wait for your reviews!**

**-sktrgrl**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the magnificent characters! **

Gray could feel the tension coursing through Natsu's body just by the mere contact of the pinkette's arms holding onto him protectively. He didn't know who this Hades was, but he didn't need his empathy to know that this man had something to do with Natsu's shrouded past. The raven consciously tried to hold his breath so that the man on the other side of the bushes wouldn't notice their presence. He had a feeling that if they were found, it wouldn't turn out well for them in the slightest. The image of the water shooting into the sky suddenly crossed his mind; that had to be Juvia sending some kind of signal, but if that's possible that means she could be hurt or worse. Gray's heart started to pound rapidly in his chest at the thought of someone else getting hurt because of him. As if sensing his distress, Natsu held him tighter and backed farther into the bushes. He subconsciously grabbed a hold of the white scarf hanging around the pinkette's neck and buried himself even closer to the warm body. Feelings of fear, worry and anger were pulsing in his mind, but at this point he knew that it was a mix of both his and Natsu's emotions only amplified.

As the fire user continued to back away, Gray felt relief wash over him; until the man named Hades turned and looked him right in the eyes despite the crowd of bushes shielding them from view. Chills that could be easily described as the caresses of Death rolled down his spine dangerously and a sharp pain coursed through his eye causing him to flinch. Natsu watched him nervously, asking him if he was okay and the raven just nodded his head slightly to indicate that he was.

"Boys," Hades called, "I know you're out there."

Gray and Natsu looked at each other and shrunk in on their-selves to seem smaller. The pinkette continued to hold on to the smaller teen and refused to lessen his grip. The fear in Natsu's eyes grew significantly as the man took a step towards the bush that they were hiding in.

"Come now, Natsu I know you're there," The man smirked evilly, "You don't want me to hurt the young Light do you? I would hate for that to happen, but as of right now you're not giving me much of a choice."

A low growl emitted from Natsu's throat as he slowly placed the raven on the dirt covered ground. He turned to leave him behind, but found he couldn't due to a pale hand wrapped tightly in his scarf. He knelt down so that he was staring into the younger teen's mismatched eyes,

"Gray, you have to let go." He whispered.

"No." The raven spat stubbornly, "You're going to get yourself killed."

Natsu placed his warm hands over the slightly colder ones holding onto his most treasured possession. He gazed into the eyes that held so much strength and determination yet also held fear, worry and guilt; he wanted to protect this boy that he fell for at first glance and he knew that with Hades around he wouldn't be able to do so. He wanted to help this boy truly smile again and he knew that wouldn't be possible until all this was over.

"Listen, everything is going to be okay; I won't die." He smiled, "I have to protect your ass remember."

Gray's face immediately started to burn, from anger or embarrassment he wasn't entirely too sure,

"You don't need to protect me you flame asshole; I can protect myself."

The pinkette hesitantly ran a calloused finger over the new cut that rested above the raven's left eyebrow,

"I know that, which is why I know I can leave you while I take care of this."

"Come on young Natsu, I haven't got all day," Hades laughed maliciously, "If you're not out in the next minute, I'll come for you both without mercy, no matter what Lord Zeref wishes."

The pinkette got up to leave once more, only to be stopped again by the hand tangled in his scarf. He reached for the raven teen's face and caressed his cheek soothingly before retracting his hand. He slowly unwound the scarf that was around his neck and placed it into the hands of the teen in front of him.

"As long as you hold onto this scarf, I will come back alive," He promised softly, "As long as you have this and you are safe everything will work out."

"Natsu, please!" He begged tearfully, "Don't!"

The fire user hesitantly leaned forward and pressed his warm lips against the smooth alabaster skin of his forehead,

"Believe in me."

"N-Natsu…"

"Your time is running out Salamander, I suggest you hurry."

Before Gray could stop him, Natsu turned away and walked out of the bushes. Gray clung to the scarf in his hands, mixed emotions and fears coursing through his exhausted body like vaults of electricity. He watched as Natsu exited the bushes and faced Hades with a hateful glare in his eyes,

"I'm here Hades," He growled fearlessly.

"Yes, I can see that very clearly young Salamander," Hades smiled, "Are you sure it is safe to keep the young Light unprotected?"

"He's not unprotected," Natsu spat, "There is more than just me in this forest you bastard; he's perfectly safe."

"You seem very confident in those words."

"Because I know they're the truth; he's safe as long as Zeref wants him safe and you know it." Natsu smirked, "And as long as I'm here, he'll be just as safe."

The white haired man's smirk twitched slightly as if he was fighting to keep it on his face. Gray could feel the anger and loathing coming off Hades and it made his skin crawl. The darkness coming from his sealed eye also irked him almost as much as his emotions did; the power that he was concealing was very prominent. Silently, Gray continued to gather his light within him so he could act as back up for the fire using teen if it was necessary; even if he was so tired that he could pass out at any moment.

FTFTFTFTFT

Natsu and Hades watched each other, trying to decide on who was going to attack first. Gray felt the tension from where he was sitting and wanted nothing more than to join the fray himself; but he forced himself not to. He knew that this was Natsu's fight; he had a past with this bastard and he was going to damn well let him deal with it. As that thought crossed his mind, Natsu's hands engulfed in flames. He charged the white haired man and jumped into the air with his fists raised,

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"

Gray's eyes widened as he saw the older teen move his arms in a wing-like motion causing his flames to release from his arms and attack Hades head on. He surprised to see that Natsu didn't stop there and when he landed brought his hands up to his mouth,

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

A blast of fire shot from his mouth and once again directly engulfed the dark ability user in a shower of flames. Gray couldn't help but compare the pinkette to an actual dragon; did training with Igneel make his abilities like this? When the flames vanished from Natsu's mouth he straightened himself up and watched the flames surrounding Hades warily. The flames slowly diminished and Hades was standing as if nothing had happened. The only signs of Natsu's attacks were the slightly singed ends of Hades' dark purple robes.

"Now Salamander," Hades said disappointedly, "I thought that you would've at least improved a little since we last met, but clearly I was mistaken."

The white haired raised his hands as if he were holding twin pistols and smirked at Natsu,

"Let's see if your reflexes have improved since our last encounter now shall we."

Without any warning, purple bullet-like shots began to shoot out of Hades' fingers as if Natsu was actually facing a barrage of Army men at one time. The pinkette jumped around the bullets flying at him as if he was dancing in a ritual. He was turning, twirling, jumping, flipping, doing anything possible to avoid being hit. One of the stray bullets hit a nearby tree and the trunk exploded immediately on contact. Gray instinctively threw his hands over his head to protect it from any tree remnants that may come his way. Natsu ignited his hands again and pushed flames into his feet which launched himself into the air as if he were flying.

"Oh Natsu, if you wanted to fly so badly you could've just let me know and I could've helped you with that."

As he finished that sentence, chains burst from magic circles in the palms of his hands and wrapped around Natsu's ankles instantaneously extinguishing the flames that he had brought forth. The chains whipped the pinkette around and smashed him into trees at random intervals. Gray himself flinched in pain when he felt the older teen connect with the rough bark or the hard ground. Through his pain, Gray could also feel a sort of nauseous feeling running through him as well. He couldn't figure it out until he remembered what Lyon had told him on the train about Natsu being extremely motion sick; those chains whipping him around were probably not helping that problem in the slightest.

Gray knew he needed to break the chain, but he couldn't figure out how and he knew that he probably wouldn't have a lot of time. He glanced around and saw a tree that was taller than the others close to him. He wrapped Natsu's scarf around his neck and climbed it as quickly as he could. He climbed onto the thickest branch he could find and crouched on it like he was a vulture searching for his prey. Using the Light that he collected in the core of his body, Gray envisioned a bow and arrow forming in his hand. When the bow and arrow became tangible, he gripped them tightly in his hand and strung the bow. He pulled the arrow back and took aim; he would normally close his left eye to aim with his right, but his instinct told him to use his blind eye to aim. When he closed his right eye, a tracking target appeared where his sight in his left should have been; he knew this temporary sight would go away once the arrow was fired, but he couldn't help but revel in the fact that he could actually see.

He let his eye zero in at the base of the chains that were connected to Natsu's ankles and took aim. However, Natsu was moving around too much and was making it impossible for him to aim; Gray then shifted his focus to the chains connected to the base of Hades' hands… those were a much easier target. Taking a deep breath, Gray pulled back on the arrow and released it, praying that it would reach its intended mark. In a blink of an eye, the Light arrow imbedded itself into the base of the shackles attached to Hades' palms which disintegrated them. Hades roared in pain when the chains disappeared and left burns on his hands. Natsu fell to the ground in a tinged green heap as he tried to regain his bearings.

"Well Salamander, it seems you have friends in high places…" Hades growled as he tried to search the treetops for the person who burnt his hands.

"Hell yes I do," Natsu smirked as he pushed himself to his feet and faced the man, "And now I'm going to repay them by kicking your ass."

The pinkette launched himself at Hades again and this time his entire body was surrounded in his flames. Even as Natsu flew towards Hades, Gray felt that Natsu was going to get seriously hurt if he didn't do something. The Light within him hummed in his veins again as if they were volts of electricity. The Light was telling him to shoot an arrow at the older teen because it would make him stronger. He was afraid to see what would happen if he did hit Natsu; what if the fire bastard got hurt? It would be all his fault and he wouldn't be able to live with himself. He barely knew this pink haired teen, but he felt as if he would fall to pieces if anything happened to him; despite his fears, the Light continued to urge him. Reluctantly, Gray closed his eyes and strung another Light Arrow. He drew the arrow back and aimed it at Natsu's enflamed body; sweat was dripping down his forehead and his arms were shaking from the strain of the arrow and fear itself. Gray held his breath as he released the arrow and watched with worried, tear-filled eyes as it embedded itself in the middle of Natsu's back.

TBC

**Hey guys! Sorry for the late update… I was trying to figure out how I could write this and was having a bit of a hard time. I'm hoping you enjoy this chapter because it has more NatsuxGray fluff… then again, it might be an awkward time for it to occur… well just tell me what you think of it anyway! I'm sorry if the characters are OOC, I tried! Oh… in regards to "The Ice Coated Flame" I absolutely cannot get it written and it's not working out at all. If anyone is interested, I am willing to either put it up for adoption or use any ideas that you have to offer… the help would be appreciated! **** Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of "An Unexpected Light"! There will definitely be more to come!**

**PS. Sorry for the very cruel cliffhanger… but it needed to be done :P**

**-sktrgrl**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail :(**

Gray watched as everything moved in slow motion. He watched as the arrow soared through the air like a majestic phoenix before slowly making its descent and embedding itself into the center of Natsu Dragneel's back. Time froze briefly as the arrow disintegrated and the cloak of flames surrounding the pinkette died out. He watched in terror as a satisfied smirk grew on Hades' face and his heart stopped as he realized that he just killed one of his comrades… his friend. He felt the tears spilling over as the guilt gnawed at his heart like a hungry vulture scavenging for food when suddenly the flames erupted back to life; but they were different somehow. Gray squinted his eyes to see what was going on when he realized that not only was the pinkette controlling flames, but lightning was now interlaced with the heat in a form of a chaotic dance. The smirk that was present on Hades' face quickly disappeared when Natsu's electrified-enflamed fist connected with the side of his face sending him flying into a nearby tree. Natsu landed cat like on his feet and smiled at the fallen man,

"I'm all fired up!"

Hades shakily pushed himself to his feet and began to clap. The smile vanished from Natsu's face very quickly and he became terrifyingly serious. The bearded man walked towards the pinkette with a masochistic glint in his eye that sent uncomfortable chills down Gray's spine.

"Well, well Salamander," He rubbed his hands together, "It seems you were hiding something from me."

Instead of answering with words, Natsu brought his hands to his mouth like he did with his earlier attack,

"LIGHTNING FLAME DRAGON'S ROAR!"

A blast of flames and lightning shot like a torpedo out of the pinkette's mouth and struck the enemy head on. Natsu charged at Hades with as much speed as he could muster before bringing his hands together. One hand held the power of lightning while the other controlled the power of fire. He brought them together so that the two great elemental powers would hit Hades simultaneously.

"LIGHTNING FLAME DRAGON'S BRILLIANT FLAME!"

Gray's mouth dropped open as a dome of fire and lightning engulfed Hades' figure; completely hiding him from sight. Natsu's rage filled cry echoed throughout the forest scaring nearby animals from their homes and nearly causing the raven haired teen to fall from his branch. When the attack ended, the pinkette was on his feet breathing heavily; exhaustion was evident on his tanned face. Gray glanced over to where Hades was once standing and saw that he was unconscious; not even a muscle moved. The raven quickly climbed down from his position and ran to the older teen. When he reached him, Natsu fell backwards in Gray's arms; his breathing was laboured and he looked as if he could sleep for the next couple weeks. The smaller teen's legs collapsed from the added weight and the absence of the fear induced adrenaline. The tiredness that Gray was feeling before was creeping up on him once more, but with the fire user out cold, he needed to be awake in case anything happened. The raven was about to lift the slightly taller teen onto his back when a loud laugh silenced his movements. He fearfully moved his gaze from the exhausted pinkette, to meet the gaze of Hades.

"Ah, there he is!" The man cried, "The Light of the World; Lord Zeref would be so pleased if I brought you to him."

Shakes moved through Gray's body paralysing him; his eyes were wide in complete disbelief and fear quickly consumed him once more. He pulled Natsu into his arms protectively as the man started to approach them. His heart was beating so loud that he could hear it in his ears and his breathing had become laboured as panic slowly began to consume him, cell by cell. Natsu stirred in his arms and an olive eye slowly cracked open. He growled low in his throat when he saw the deranged man stalking towards them. He slowly pushed himself up and noticed the pure fear that was dancing in the raven haired teen's eyes. Natsu reached out to comfort him, when Hades' booming voice interrupted him,

"Salamander, you're out of magic. There is nothing you can possibly do to protect this bastard child any longer; hand him over and you may live."

Gray froze at the man's words and almost in a trance, pushed himself shakily to his feet. Hades raised an eyebrow in curiosity as the raven started to walk forward. The raven knew without the pinkette answering that he would not be given up; but the pinkette needed to live and the younger teen was going to make sure it was possible. He was about to take another step forward when a warm, comforting, calloused hand gripped onto his own as tightly as it could manage. Gray to wrench his hand from the tight grip, but the fire user refused to let go.

"Let me go Natsu."

"Like hell I'm letting you go!" Natsu growled ferociously, "Not only would Lyon murder me, but it would be going against absolutely everything I believe in."

"Lyon won't be able to murder you if you're already dead!" Gray shouted, "I'm not going to let someone else die because of my existence."

The pinkette opened his mouth to retort, but was silenced by the malicious laughter coming from the man in front of them. Gray's entire body was shaking and he was trying with all his will to push the tears that had gathered in his eyes back below the surface. He futilely tried to get his hand out of Natsu's grip, but he was too exhausted to actually have any effect on the older male. Hades stopped so that he was only inches away; the darkness emanating from the man's concealed eye seemed to continuously expand as he stood there.

"Why don't you listen to what the young Light says Salamander?" Hades taunted, "He seems like he knows what he wants, don't you think?"

Gray subconsciously flinched when Natsu's growl erupted from behind him,

"Forget it you bastard."

Hades sighed exaggeratedly before placing his hand over his eye patch,

"I didn't want to resort to this, but it seems that I don't have much of a choice. Whatever happens is on your shoulders Salamander."

Gray could almost tangibly see the dark aura that was pulsing around the dark user in front of him. Pain threaded through his eye as the darkness continued to expand at an exponential rate. The sky became overcast and the clouds quickly darkened and thickened in the blink of an eye. A harsh cold wind was now whipping through the forest causing Gray to hold onto the pinkette as tightly as he could. He watched in fear as Hades tore off the eye patch; intense, excruciating pain exploded through his eye immediately sending him to his knees. Natsu dropped to his side as he went down and wrapped his arms around the overwhelmed raven. Blood was pouring out of the golden eye as if they were tears; the pain was unbearable. Natsu shakily used the pad of his thumb to wipe most of the blood from Gray's face when an explosion of darkness engulfed the area. The teens tensed as mysterious dark beings sprouted from the ground like weeds.

"Witness the power of the Demon's Eye."

Gray shifted his gaze from the beings to the figure of Hades who resided in a mask of darkness. The man looked windswept with his hair blown back the way he was, but there was no denying the pure hatred and mania that smoothed across his visage. Gray couldn't draw his gaze away from the man's left eye; the colour was blood red and promised pain on any one that it was revealed to. The Light within him churned in his stomach anxiously as the beings continued to approach both him and Natsu. He felt the fire user's arms wrapping tightly around him; soothing him through the warm touch that his body unknowingly brings. As the darkness pressed on them, he knew that they would die if something didn't happen quickly. Reacting to his thoughts, the Light within once again began to build. The chill that claimed his body slowly started to recede and a bright warmth engulfed his being. He could feel the power seeping through his skin and he was pretty sure that it could be seen as well. The light expanded until he could feel it lingering all around them like a cloak. He could feel the darkness' distain and pain from the invading warmth that dared to overtake its territory. He could faintly hear Natsu's voice talking to him, but he was too far away now to hear; all that was on his mind was 'protect' and he damn well was going to do it, even if it cost him everything.

TBC

**Hey! Sorry for the majorly late update… but I'm suffering from a renowned disease known to all as writers block -_-' I was hoping that I wouldn't succumb to its evil grasp, but alas I have failed :( please forgive me for this somewhat rushed and confusing chapter!**

**-sktrgrl **


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Don't own Fairy Tail… but I'm hoping that us Fanfictioners will band together and claim it someday :P**

**Warnings: Yaoi, Language**

_Shit…shit…shit…shit_

Was the only thing going through Natsu's mind as he watched the dark beings Hades created started to expand. Even though he wasn't as sensitive to the Darkness as Gray was, he could tangibly feel the pull of the Darkness that the bastard standing before him had unleashed. He tightened his arms around the younger raven's shaking form and kept an eye on him from the corner of his eye. The golden eye was still crying blood and the muscles around it were twitching painfully. Natsu scanned the damaged treeline for any sign of the other guardians, but so far they were out of luck. He turned his attention back to what was happening in front of him, only to feel his mouth dropping open in shock.

Gray's body was engulfed with light; he shone almost as bright as the sun. His power was radiating off his skin in uncontrollable waves and the Light was surrounding the Darkness that was brought to life by Hades. The raven's body was quivering in his arms and his breath was coming out in shallow pants; he was clearly overworking his body and if this kept up…

"Gray, you have to stop." Natsu whispered.

Instead of the light extinguishing, it started to glow even brighter; expanding to the corners of the forest. Natsu looked to the other side of the clearing and found Hades on his knees, clutching his hand to his chest as if he was having a heart attack. The purple, red veined beings were crumbling to dust. As the dark beings crumbled, Natsu began to feel his power replenishing once more; it was like he had never fought against Hades in the first place. When he determined that Hades wouldn't be a problem for the time being, the pinkette turned his attention back to the raven. The pale skin could no longer be seen through the golden aura; Gray could be considered a human light bulb by this point. The one thing he could see were the dark red tears of blood that continued to flow down his cheek. His body was almost convulsing in his touch now and Natsu was starting to panic; panicking was something he had never experienced.

"Stop it," Natsu placed his hands on Gray's cheeks, "You have to stop it; you're going to hurt yourself."

The raven mumbled something incoherently, which in turn caused the light to expand even more. Behind him, Natsu heard a guttural cry of pain escape Hades lips and felt another shot of power course through his veins.

Natsu pressed his forehead against Gray's and ran his hands through the soft raven hair,

"Listen to me you stubborn idiot, you need to quit doing this. We're safe now!"

"Protect…"

Natsu's hands froze,

"W-What did you say?"

"I need to keep everyone safe…"

"No," Natsu whispered, "You've done enough."

"I-I can't let anyone else die because of me…"

As one side cried blood, the other cried to pure tears. Natsu's heart nearly shattered because of the boy's confession. The pinkette wrapped his arms around the boy and pulled him into a tight embrace, letting his comforting emotions seep in through the empathetic link.

"Everything is going to be alright," Natsu choked, "We're not going to die; we would never leave you alone. I promise you that no matter what happens, we'll all stand by your side; no matter where this hell takes us, we'll fight and we'll stay alive… all of us."

When Gray didn't respond, Natsu took a chance and placed his hands on either side of the raven's face once more. Without hesitation, the pinkette leaned forward and pressed his lips against the lips of the ravens. Of course there was no response from the younger teen, but the light that swallowed the teen's body disappeared. Natsu broke the kiss as Gray slumped forward unconscious. Natsu hastily pressed his fingers to the teen's neck and released a breath he didn't even know he was holding when he felt a pulse thrumming in the smaller teen's neck.

As he was about to gather Gray into his arms, something struck him from the side and sent him flying. He sat up shakily and held his throbbing cheek as he glared at the culprit, but before he could even complain, the culprit roared,

"What the HELL were you doing?!"

FTFTFTFT

Lyon's heart was pounding in his chest as he bolted through the forest and towards the shot of water that Juvia had shot into the air. Lucy and Wendy were right on his heels as the trees blurred around them in their haste. After what felt like hours, they finally reached a clearing in the forest, where they found Erza, Gajeel and Juvia. Erza and Gajeel were breathing heavily and Juvia looked like she was run over by millions of cars. Her clothes were tattered and every inch of her skin was covered in mud and blood.

"What happened?" Lyon demanded as he approached them.

"Juvia is very sorry Lyon-sama!" Juvia sobbed hysterically, tears literally pouring out of her eyes like a waterfall, "She didn't even see it coming!"

"Juvia calm down," Lucy soothed gently, "What didn't you see coming?"

"J-Jose…" Juvia muttered darkly, "Jose Porla attacked Juvia."

Gajeel growled from hearing the name and glared at the floor angrily. Erza's fist was clenching and unclenching as tension wracked her body. Lyon was staring at Juvia sympathetically as the girl began shaking with rage. Lucy also looked tense as she remembered the hell that Jose had put her through a couple years ago. Wendy hadn't heard much about what happened with Jose and the others, but she knew that it was something life changing for them.

"Where is he now?" Lyon demanded.

"Erza, Juvia and I took him down before you three arrived," Gajeel spat, "It wasn't easy, but he's dust."

"Are you absolutely sure?" Lucy asked.

"For sure," Erza glared at a darkened hole in the ground, "He paid for everything he did and then some."

An uncomfortable chill travelled up his spine as he stared at the crater in the ground. Lyon couldn't help but feel something was wrong with the whole situation and it didn't take him long for him to figure it out either.

"How did Jose act when he was fighting?" Lyon whispered.

"What do you mean Lyon-san?" Wendy asked curiously.

"When you were fighting that ugly, goateed bastard was he taking you guys seriously?"

"What are you trying to say Bastia?" Gajeel growled, "Are you saying he played us?!"

"Think about it you iron headed idiot," Lyon spat, "Six of the seven guardians are here, while the Natsu and Gray are all alone in the middle of a secluded forest."

The other five guardians froze as they let Lyon's words sink in; their emotions ranged from pissed to shock…pissed because they had been played and shocked because none of them thought of it being a diversion. An explosion pulled them from their thoughts, forcing them all to look to the west. Smoke was rising into the air like a beacon that clearly screamed, 'Natsu is here'. Without another thought, the six guardians ran for the smoke in the distance; however, before they could get very far, Grigames circled around them.

"We do not have time for this shit!" Lyon shouted impatiently.

"Oh really Bastia, I thought that we were just looking for a place to have a picnic." Gajeel rolled his eyes.

"Do not start with me Redfox or I swear I'll…"

"If you both don't shut up right now, I will shove a sword so far up your asses that you won't be able to sit for the rest of your lives!" Erza roared as she summoned a sword and cut down a row of Grigames who dared to stand against her.

Gajeel and Lyon flinched away from the furious red haired teen before turning back to back and mowing down another row of creatures; Lucy and Wendy sweatdropped at the scene that unfolded before summoning the wind and celestial spirits. Juvia on the other hand had simply lost her mind and was attacking everything in sight. She was almost as demonic as Erza and that was terrifying in its own right.

"You will not keep Juvia separated from Gray-sama!"

A tidal wave erupted from her hands and washed over the Grigames immediately sending them to their death. Lucy locked eyes with the water woman and they nodded to each other when brown mixed with blue. Juvia summoned a water portal in front of her as the others kept the Grigames busy; when Lucy saw that the portal was created she stuck her hand into the water. A yellow light surrounded her hand as the water swallowed her hand,

"Everyone get down!" Juvia ordered.

"Open!" Lucy's voice echoed throughout the clearing, "Gate of the Water Bearer, Aquarius!"

A large, yellow, summoning circle appeared on the surface of the portal and engulfed the field briefly in a bright light. When the light cleared, a gorgeous mermaid was floating before them holding onto a blue urn. The Grigames watched the strange woman in interest before cowering in fear due to the livid expression on the celestial spirits face.

"How dare you…" She mumbled darkly, "RUIN MY DATE!"

"I'm sorry!" Lucy squeaked as leaned away from the furious spirit, "I won't call on you for the rest of the month if you do this for me!"

"YOU SAID THAT LAST TIME!"

"I know…" Lucy muttered, "If you won't do it for me, do it for Gray."

Aquarius sighed, but nodded her head in understanding. She raised her urn above her head and arched her back with such intense flexibility that no human would be able to match. With a battle cry that could rival Erza's the mermaid unleashed a torrent of water that swallowed and killed every single Grigame that remained in the clearing. The five guardians relaxed, but Aquarius had not yet disappeared and had an unusual look of sadness on her face.

"You meant the young Light," Aquarius whispered, "Me helping you could be the very act that changes the outcome of the world's survival."

"Are you implying that my younger brother will destroy the world?!" Lyon spat dangerously.

Aquarius turned her blue gaze on the fuming teen and sighed sadly,

"I'm not saying that at all Lyon Bastia, but I can tell you that everything is not what it seems. Sometimes when you feel like you know the truth, you learn that everything you knew were lies."

Before anyone could respond, Aquarius disappeared in a shower of golden light. Lucy frowned at Aquarius' parting words; it was the first time that the celestial spirit had not teased her about her lack of relationship. Knowing that, Lucy couldn't help but feel that there was more to that message that meets the eye. She shoved the thought to the back of her mind until a later time when she saw Lyon's anger filled gaze.

"What the hell did your spirit mean by that?!" Lyon growled furiously.

"How would I know?" Lucy sighed, "She's freaking bipolar."

Lyon opened his mouth to argue when a surge of power engulfed them, quickly rejuvenating the energy that they had just used. Wendy stared at everyone to see if they felt it too and was confirmed by the confused looks on their faces.

"What was that?" Erza asked out loud.

"J-Juvia doesn't know," Juvia whispered, "But Juvia feels stronger."

Gajeel nodded his head and his red eyes narrowed to the area where the smoke column was spotted earlier. Dark smog was hanging around and it sent a sharp chill down his spine and his senses heightened. A soft wind billowed towards them, and the scent being carried caused him to still.

"Hades…" He muttered.

"No…" Wendy covered her mouth with her hands, "Natsu-kun is fighting Hades… alone?!"

Gajeel nodded numbly and his eyes widened when a golden light shot high into the sky and blanketed over the forest.

"Shit…"

"He's losing control." Lyon's face lost its colour, "Gray…"

"We have to get there now!" Erza ordered as she took off towards the light.

Without a second thought, the other guardians followed. They ran as if the world was ending right at that moment and if they weren't fast enough, it probably would. Lyon's heart was beating in his ears as he thought of the worst scenario. He knew that much energy was bad, especially since Gray was able to heal all of them when they were miles away.

"Bastia, do you have any idea why his power is spilling out like this?" Gajeel shouted.

"You said that it was Hades, yeah?" Gajeel and Wendy nodded, "If Hades activated Demon's Eye, the Light within my brother would immediately want to purge the darkness that was threatening him, however, it would only protect Gray as an individual."

"Then why is it doing this?!" Erza demanded.

"Natsu had to fight Hades by himself," Lyon answered simply, "He's probably exhausted his energy and Gray probably blamed himself for it."

"But Natsu-kun wouldn't want that…"

"I know that Wendy," Lyon sighed, "But Gray doesn't see it that way; his whole life, everything revolved around keeping him safe and even though he was really young he knew it. He didn't know what was after him, but he knew that he was putting people in danger… then our mom died. He's been blaming himself since that day and he doesn't want anyone else to get hurt because of him."

"At this rate, he's not going to make it." Lucy whispered.

"Too him, Natsu's life is more important."

After that statement, they had finally reached the clearing where Gray's light was taking reign. They had to squint to see through the Light, but they found Hades' disintegrating body lying on the ground. Their eyes lingered on the damage on the trees and the scorch marks that littered the area. Finally, their eyes found the teens they were looking for and their jaws dropped to the floor; Natsu was kissing Gray.

Natsu Dragneel was **kissing **Gray Fullbuster…

The idiotic flame eating bastard was **kissing **Lyon's baby brother…

The five guardians continued to stare at what was happening as the Light in the clearing slowly disappeared and returned to Gray. They watched as the exhausted teen fell forward and landed in the pinkette's arms. Well most of them watched, one of them had a completely different idea. Lyon stormed over to the pinkette, raised his fist and punched him in the side, sending him away from his younger brother; his anger was so intense that it was almost palpable.

"What the HELL were you doing?!"

TBC

**Sorry for the late update… again… but here's a long chapter to make up for it :) now everyone knows that Lyon and everyone else weren't just sitting on their asses doing nothing :P they were doing important stuff too! Anyways, I hope the characters aren't too OOC and I don't know about you, but I felt the need to summon Aquarius just cause she makes me laugh in every episode she appears in :P I probably don't do her justice, but I tried! Waiting on your reviews!**

**-sktrgrl**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail… but I just might since fangirls everywhere want to bitch slap Hiro Mashima for ch 334 of the manga -_- **

The small clearing in the woods was finally devoid of the luminous light that had engulfed it moments ago. The damage caused by Natsu and Hades' battle could be seen by everyone and the results were severe. Lucy was staring at the scorch and burn marks surrounding Hades in awe and confusion; the burn marks were obviously caused by Natsu's flames, but the scorch marks resembled that of lightning striking the ground. The blonde narrowed her eyes to scan the treeline, searching for a sign of anyone else who could've assisted the pink haired idiot from the sidelines. Speaking of the pink haired idiot…

"ANSWER ME!" Lyon roared as he stalked towards his prey, "What the FUCK do you think you were doing to my little brother?!"

Natsu's olive eyes hardened dangerously as he tried to massage the pain out of his cheek,

"I was saving his life!"

The furious white haired ice guardian grabbed a hold of the dark red t-shirt and pulled the pinkette so that their noses were almost touching. The tension stirring between them was palpable and it was making every one of the guardians uneasy. Wendy's eyes were trained on Gray's unconscious form to see if there was any permanent damage, but her senses were on high alert just in case the rivals decided to pummel each other into the ground. Gajeel was watching the fire and ice user with amusement dancing in his eyes; he's been waiting for this moment to happen for days… finally he had some entertainment! Erza looked just as furious as Lyon did, but it was probably because the two stubborn idiots were fighting in the first place. Her hand was clenching and unclenching the sword in her hand; it was obvious that she wanted to beat the shit out of both of them, but she was preoccupied with Juvia. The blue haired teen could be compared to a savage beast at that moment; murderous intent and confusion were evident in her blue orbs. Erza knew that if she were to let Juvia go, they would probably be short a guardian. Lucy was the only one who was acting relatively normal despite the headache that was pounding against her temples due to the morons standing before her.

"Oh please!" Lyon spat, "Explain to me how kissing my defenseless brother would save his life?!"

Natsu ripped himself from Lyon's grip and pushed the teen away from him with a growl,

"You saw it didn't you?! If I didn't do something, Gray was going to die you ice bastard! I had to shock him out of the state he was in or else it would've been the end of all of us and you know it!"

Lyon raised his fist to punch the pinkette once more only to have the pinkette's tanned hand close around his pale one. In retaliation, Natsu raised his foot and kicked the slightly older teen away from him. Onyx eyes burned into olive as the anger continued to escalate between the two.

"N-Natsu-kun," Wendy tried to divert the fire user's attention, "Can you tell us what happened here so that we could better understand?"

Natsu's olive eyes slowly drifted from Lyon's too land on Wendy's worry-filled ones. The pinkette sighed tensely and nodded his head slightly to show that he heard her. His eyes then moved from Wendy to the unconscious teen on the ground; fear and sadness started to replace the anger that had blossomed through his confrontation with Lyon.

"An hour after you all left on your different duties, Gray woke up from the memory that Lyon revealed to him. He was a little tired and disoriented at first, but once he found out where he was and where you guys were he was able to relax; even though he was startled by the fact that we were in the forest outside of Akane. After that, he wanted to ask me a few questions about my past so he could understand what was happening.

"During this time, we both noticed Juvia's signal shooting into the sky and we ran; I had to carry Gray because he was still tired from seeing the memory earlier. We ran about one mile when Gray shifted his weight to the left and caused me to lose my footing and fall into the brush of this clearing. As we fell, a flash of purple grazed Gray's head and Hades appeared; he tried tempting us out through the use of fear, but we both refused to move. Hades then decided that if I didn't come out, he would come in after us and deal with me even if Gray was killed in the process…"

"Is he trying to commit suicide?!" Lucy screamed in disbelief, "Zeref would murder him if Gray was killed by someone else."

"His need for Natsu was and is greater than his need for Gray." Gajeel replied grimly.

"What…"

"Just let him finish explaining," Gajeel growled at Lucy, "We'll get to that part later."

"Anyways," Natsu sighed as if he was reliving a living hell, "after he threatened Gray's safety, I decided to go fight him and just put an end to it all. Gray tried to stop me, but I convinced him to let me go by giving him something important to me to hold onto."

"Your scarf…" Erza whispered as she noticed the fabric wrapped around Gray's pale neck.

The pinkette nodded his head slightly before he continued,

"After finally convincing him to let me go, I went to confront Hades. With just my fire alone, I got my ass whipped… big time. I was only able to dodge his aura-filled bullets until he called upon his chains. I would've been dead if Gray didn't do something…"

"What did he do?" Lyon demanded impatiently.

Natsu rolled his eyes and took a deep, calming breath before he continued,

"He did something using his light and attacked the chains at the bases of Hades' palms. After that, Hades tried searching for Gray in the treetops so he could strike him down. To distract Hades I charged at him again only to find a warm light engulfing me as I ran; the next thing I knew lightning was laced through my flames."

"The legendary power of the Lightning Fire Dragon," Wendy's mouth dropped open, "How were you able to do that; it takes a large amount of energy."

"I think Gray did something again," Natsu shrugged, "To be honest, I don't know how it happened, all I knew was that it did. I defeated Hades and then after that I blacked out; when I came to, Gray was shaking like a leaf and Hades was back on his feet and approaching us. I was completely out of power so there was nothing I could do. Hades tried to convince Gray to come with him to go to Zeref, but I stopped him; the bastard then activated his Demon's Eye."

As if the pinkette was reliving the memory he flinched in pain,

"After the activation of the eye, Gray's own eye activated and a light started to shine from his body. I-I tried to get him to stop because his breathing was shallow, but he didn't acknowledge me and refused to listen no matter what I said. He was muttering something under his breath, but I couldn't understand any of it until his Light engulfed the entire clearing. H-He said that he had to protect us, and that no one else was allowed to die because of him. He still wouldn't respond to me so I kissed him to see if it would shock him enough that he would snap out of it and he did. Then I got punched in the face by you, you damn overprotective icicle!"

"Why is there blood coming from his eye?" Lucy asked worriedly.

"When Hades activated the Demon's Eye, the pressure of Darkness that was released put a lot of strain on his mind and power." Lyon whispered, "Due to using his ability countless times without rest, his body couldn't protect him anymore."

"Is the brat going to be okay?" Gajeel growled.

"Yeah," Wendy answered confidently as she used the healing properties of her wind ability, "He'll need a lot of rest, but that's pretty much the extent of it."

"I'm sorry Gray-sama," Juvia whimpered, "It's all Juvia's fault."

"Juvia…" Lucy looked at the girl sympathetically.

"Erza must punish Juvia!"

The guardians face palmed as they watched Juvia try and get Erza to punish her by trying to lift the scarlet teen's sword arm and impale herself. Erza, however, was very still and a deep frown marred her beautiful features. The other guardians flinched away from that look out of instinct and Natsu subtly moved closer to Gray just in case.

"What's wrong Erza?" Lucy stuttered nervously.

Erza was quiet for a moment before she spoke,

"The bakery is probably closed now… that means I can't get any strawberry cake."

"WHAT?!"

TBC

**Hey guys, sorry for the late chapter… again… but I had a very hard time writing this chapter. It probably doesn't meet your expectations, especially with the whole Natsu x Lyon confrontation… sigh… well I'm waiting on your reviews!**

**-sktrgrl**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

**Warnings: Yaoi, Language and Violence**

_He was surrounded by lush forest; the blades of grass were blowing beneath his feet and the leaves were speaking to each other filling soothing plain with calm rustling. The spring birds were chirping in the distance and he was pretty sure he could hear a… a… woodpecker… yeah that's it… a woodpecker knocking against a nearby tree trunk. The rapid sounds were enough to make him remember what had just happened in his village._

_The sound of gunshots…_

_The screams…_

_The accusations…_

_The heat of his flames…_

_He didn't want to hurt them… not really. But they made him do it; they killed his parents because they found out. They found out about his secret… they found out that he wasn't human. Fresh tears started to make their way down his cheeks as the wounds on his heart continued to throb. It wasn't his parents fault… they had only stumbled upon him one day… just floating in the river. If only they hadn't taken him in, then they would be happy right now._

_They would be alive…_

"_Are you alright young one?"_

_He raised his head and found himself looking into the eyes of the being that saved his life. Those golden eyes pierced his soul like a knife; every single time their eyes met, he felt as if he was transparent. He was unable to hide anything from his saviour… and in a way… he didn't want to hide anything._

"_I don't wanna hurt them anymore."_

_The being tilted its head and regarded its charge thoughtfully,_

"_Why not? They killed your parents and called you a monster; why don't you want to hurt them?"_

"_Because I'm not a monster!" He argued determinedly, "I'll prove to them that I don't only destroy! I'll show them that these flames can also protect!"_

_The being laughed wholeheartedly and placed its paw on its charge's head,_

"_Very well… I shall help you, Natsu…"_

"_Dragneel." He smiled brightly, "Natsu Dragneel; son of the dragon Igneel!"_

Gray sat forward with a gasp; his heart beating in his chest a mile a minute. He glanced around thinking he would find Hades somewhere only to realize that he was no longer in the forest. Actually, it looked as if he was in some sort of hotel room; a cheap one, but definitely a hotel room. He pushed the blankets aside so he could get up when his legs gave out from under him; stiff muscles that he didn't even know he possess protested as he landed roughly on the bed. He didn't even remember leaving the forest, let alone the sore muscles that accompanied it.

What the hell happened?!

He thought back to the battle with Hades and the last thing he remembers is Hades activating his Demon's Eye and then… there's nothing. It was like everything after that was erased… did something happen to Natsu?! With a renewed will Gray pushed himself to his feet and managed to stay standing. He stumbled to the door, barely on his feet, when the door opened as he reached for the handle. He was staring into the eyes of none other than Lucy Heartfilia; at least that meant he wasn't in enemy hands…

"GRAY?!"

He jumped back from the shout and nearly fell flat on his ass; he would've, but luckily the blonde managed to latch onto him and keep him standing. The brown eyed guardian led him over to the bed once more and sat him down on the bed. She was mumbling under her breath… something about 'stubborn idiots who don't know their limits' before she pulled one of the chairs from the table and sat across from him. He noticed the worry lines etched on her pale face and the dark circles under eyes; she also looked as if she hasn't slept in a while…

It was like she was grieving…

_No…_

"Please tell me he isn't dead." He pleaded, "_Please_ tell me I didn't kill someone else."

"What are you talking about?" Lucy placed her hands on his shoulders only for him to flinch away, "Gray?"

"Natsu…" He whispered sullenly as tears threatened to surface, "is he…"

"NO!" Lucy shouted frantically as she waved her hands in front of his face, "No, he's okay; just a little sore and tired, that's all."

"Promise?"

The blonde reached out and grabbed onto his hands tightly,

"Gray, I swear to you that Natsu is alright; we were more worried about you, you damn idiot."

The raven felt relief flow through him as he heard the fire user was safe. He squeezed Lucy's hands tightly and pulled her into a tight hug,

"Thank you."

"No," Lucy whispered, "He's only alive because of you. Speaking of which everyone has a bone to pick with you."

Gray flinched and withdrew from the blonde as he looked away guiltily. He didn't know who he was more afraid of; Lyon or Erza. Hell, Natsu was probably super pissed at him too, so that means he's going to get his ass kicked three times over. Then he also wasted Gajeel's time somehow and then he no doubt made Juvia cry (he hoped he didn't… punches are one thing… tears on the other hand…).

Wendy would probably be merciful though; see there's an upside to everything!

"I'm sorry…" He mumbled.

"You almost died Gray; sorry isn't going to cut it."

"I-I almost died?!" He shouted, "How did that happen?!"

Lucy's mouth dropped open in disbelief and stared at incredulously. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, when the hotel room door slammed open; the door bounced off the wall so hard a massive dent was left in the wall. Gray gulped as a stormy aura entered the room and threatened to swallow him whole. If he didn't know any better he would say that they were getting attacked by the Darkness, but of course he did know better. He raised his hand in an uncertain wave,

"H-Hi Lyon."

"Hi…" The silverette growled, "You've been unconscious for an entire week and all you can say is HI?!"

"Lyon…"

"Lucy this doesn't concern you."

"But…"

"I SAID THIS DOESN'T CONCERN YOU!"

A sharp chill engulfed the room immediately silencing Lucy and causing her to back away nervously. Gray subtly pushed himself away so that he wouldn't be so close to his brother's chilling aura.

Maybe he should take his chances with Erza…

"GRAY FULLBUSTER!"

Spoke too soon…

"ARE YOU THAT MUCH OF AN IDIOT?!"

Gray shook his back and forth frantically just as her armoured fist banged him over the head. He cursed and held his head protectively,

"What the hell Erza! I just woke up, don't knock me out again!"

The red head glared at him and raised her hand as a magic circle appeared in the air. A large sword appeared in her hand and she pointed at him fearlessly,

"WHAT did you say?!"

"N-Nothing!" Gray looked to his brother for help, but it looked like he was out of luck.

"Mind telling me what you were thinking Gray?!" Lyon demanded.

The raven opened his mouth to tell him he didn't know what he was talking about when a shrill voice immediately cut him off,

"GRAY-SAMA!"

And of course there's Juvia…

And of course she's crying a river…

Literally…

"JUVIA WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT GRAY-SAMA! WHY WOULD GRAY-SAMA DO SOMETHING SO RECKLESS?!"

"Guys…" Lucy tried again.

"IS LUCY TRYING TO STEAL GRAY-SAMA?!"

"NO!"

"Gray, tell me why you did that!" Lyon demanded.

"How could you be so irresponsible?!" Erza screamed.

Gray's eyes jumped to each person trying to follow the commotion that was going on around him, but all he felt was his own frustration and anger rising. He didn't know what he did and they're acting like complete idiots. He didn't know where Natsu was, he didn't know how he got back and apparently he almost DIED. He felt his power building inside of him once more and he knew he was probably going to get yelled at even more for it, but this was plain ridiculous!

"CAN YOU ALL SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTHS FOR ONE FUCKING SECOND?!"

The room silenced instantaneously; all eyes were now on him. He was breathing heavily as he tried to get himself under control once more. Lyon looked as if he was going to open his mouth to say something; he was swiftly silenced with a glare.

"I don't know what the hell you guys are talking about!" He shouted in frustration, "All I remember is Hades activating his Demon's Eye; I didn't even know Natsu was alive until like ten minutes ago!"

"You…"

"For fuck sakes Lyon, I don't remember!" Gray roared at his brother before pushing himself shakily to his feet.

He felt his brother reach out to him, but he just avoided it. Without looking back he stormed out of his room and slammed the door behind him on the way out. He would be surprised if they would be allowed to stay in the hotel now; especially with all the noise. Gray sighed and made his way down the hall so he could figure out where he was. As if by instinct, he found himself in front of room number 3573 and he knew for a fact that this is where Natsu was. He hesitated briefly before rapping on the door; something told him that Natsu would be able to fill in his memory for him without it seeming like a freaking interrogation.

He waited for a few moments, but he could hear slow footsteps from the other side of the door. The door opened slowly before a familiar olive green eye poked through a slit in the door. The eye widened before the door was thrown open and he was wrapped in a warm embrace. He couldn't help but sink into the warmth as Natsu held him tightly.

"You're awake…"

Gray nodded numbly,

"I'm surprised you didn't hear all the shouting…"

"Shouting?" Natsu released him and held him at arm's length, "They didn't…"

"They did." He confirmed.

The pinkette sighed and pulled Gray into his room and shut the door firmly behind him. They both slowly made it over to the bed and sat beside each other on it. Their shoulders were brushing together and Gray was resting his head against Natsu's neck as exhaustion was slowly catching up with him.

"Are you alright?" He whispered sadly.

"Me?" Natsu raised an eyebrow, "I'm fine; all thanks to you anyway."

"Yeah, that's what Lucy said."

"What Lucy said?"

Gray nodded and ran his hand through his raven hair,

"I actually don't remember what happened…can you tell me?"

He felt the pinkette tense beside him, but as he asked Natsu relayed the story to him. Apparently he went into some trance-like state and nearly used up all his magic. That explains why he feels so drained even though he's been asleep for a week. As he listened he couldn't help but think that Natsu had left out something important. It was almost like a shadow of a memory that he could almost reach, but it was just dancing out of his grasp. Gray glanced up at Natsu to ask about it when he noticed the large bruise that spread from under his tanned chin up to his cheekbone. That definitely wasn't there before he passed out…

"Natsu, what happened to your face?"

"Huh?"

"Where did that bruise come from?" Natsu opened his mouth to respond, "And don't tell me it was always there, because we both know that's utter bullshit."

The fire user sighed and glanced away from him,

"It was Lyon…"

"WHAT?! Why?!" He demanded.

"I did something that he didn't approve of." Natsu shrugged.

"Tell me." Natsu shook his head, "It can't be that bad!"

"It would be better if you never know…"

Gray sat up and moved away from Natsu furiously; he clenched his fists at his sides ready to punch the answers out of him if he had to,

"BULLSHIT! Damnit Natsu, tell me what happened! I don't want to be in the dark anymore…"

His rant was cut of abruptly when something warm pressed against his lips. He stared wide eyed at the pinkette's closed eyelids as he realized that the warmth on his lips was Natsu's own lips. It seemed so familiar, but not at the same time. He let his own eyes fall closed as the fire user's tongue ghosted against his bottom lip. He gasped at the feeling allowing the appendage to sneak past his barriers and ravage his mouth. Hesitantly, he raised his hands and buried them into Natsu's pink hair; the spikes were so soft it was dangerous.

After what felt like too soon, Natsu pulled away from him; of course he couldn't get very far because Gray still had his fingers in the pinkette's hair. Olive clashed with blue and gold as they stared into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity. Gray shuddered as Natsu's warm touch brushed against his cheekbones and down his jaw until it rested at the base of his neck just above the collarbone.

"That's what I did…" Natsu whispered, "Well, more or less."

"I-I don't know how to react to that." Gray ducked his head as a blush spread across his cheeks.

"Well this is better than hitting me," The pinkette chuckled as he raised Gray's head once more, "I'm not going to pressure you Gray; this is new to me also."

"I just… I don't know if I can… love you enough…" Gray whispered sadly, "I haven't felt it in so long… but when I look at you I…"

"Shhh," Natsu whispered soothingly as he brought Gray into the crook of his neck, "We'll work through this together."

Gray buried his nose into the warmth of Natsu's neck and gently pressed his lips there. As he sat in his Fire Guardian's arms he was sure of one thing…

"_Because I'm not a monster!" He argued determinedly, "I'll prove to them that I don't only destroy! I'll show them that these flames can also protect!"_

This boy deserved love and he would do everything in his power to provide it for him…they were both broken, but together they can make a whole.

TBC

**FINALLY! AFTER THREE MONTHS I HAVE FINALLY UPDATED THIS GODFORSAKEN STORY! The writer's block for this story was just plain horrible, but I managed to come up with a chapter and I'm quite proud of it! Especially since we have some headway in the NatsuxGray department ;) Waiting for your reviews!**

**-sktrgrl**


End file.
